Dead Winter
by lonelywaldorf
Summary: Georgie, Adele and the others have escaped the clutches of the Governor and the walkers that swarm the prison. But winter is coming, and their supplies are low. A Sequel to These Bonds that Link us. More OC. Please Rate!
1. Aftermath

**If you are new to this story, and want to know what Georgie is thinking about, look for my first fanfic, _These bonds that link us._**

**Georgie**

Georgie sighed and leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes. Drawing her legs up to her chest, she nestled her chin into her knees and pulled the threadbare blanket around her. It was cold and the ground was frosty, but she was glad to have some alone time, away from the camp, to think.

It had been a week since they had escaped from the prison. They had been moving continually since, afraid to stay too close in case the walkers had followed them. After the initial euphoria of being reunited with the rest of the group, reality had set in fast. The RV had been stripped of food and most of the medical supplies Georgie, Daryl and Rick had risked their lives for. The buses had some water, obviously equipped for emergencies, but no food. The group had no clothes other than what was on their backs, and most of their weapons were also at the complex. The only thing that was better than the complex was the lack of walkers everywhere. She rubbed her hand over her eyes and sighed.

T-Dog had been brilliant. Rick was still in shock over the death of Lori-they all were-and was in no fit state to make any decisions. All the prisoners had moved on, apart from Billy and Katie, and T-Dog had just taken charge. He had sent Glenn and Maggie out to look for abandoned cars to siphon gas from, and come up with a plan for the next few weeks. That first night, they had slept on the bus and in the RV. Adele and Georgie had lain on two seats at the back of the bus, and in subdued whispers, Georgie had told Adele everything that had passed in the complex.

Well, almost everything.

The Governors words, about how she and Adele were his finest projects, how he could see himself in them. They haunted her. She had been kept awake every night since then, wondering if it was true, searching herself for a hint, a shred of the insanity that the Governor may have bred in her. When she did sleep, she had nightmares where she was sat in the Governors seat, watching walkers rip T-Dog and the rest of the group apart. And laughed whilst they did it. As a result, her nights had been for the most part sleepless, and she was pretty sure that T-Dog, Adele and Daryl knew something was up.

Daryl and T-Dog. That had been an unexpected development. Ever since Daryl had realised that T-Dog and Georgie had been the ones who had decided that they were going to rescue him, his attitude towards T-Dog had softened considerably. One would almost call it friendly. Not only that, but Daryl vocally backed up the decisions that T-Dog made, effectively confirming his place as temporary leader. When the three of them sat on guard, rode, hunted or generally hung out together, he seemed more relaxed, and more tolerable to be around. T-Dog noticed this too, and was both flattered and mystified.

Georgie shivered, and her hand went involuntarily to the chain around her neck. Carlos' crucifix hung there, a comforting reminder of the gentle man who had tried to look after her in the complex. Running out the prison, she had seen his body, not yet reanimated. Despite the shouts from Daryl, she had had to give him the same dignity he had given so many others, and so had run to him, grabbing the first weapon she could find, and sliced his head open. There was no time for a prayer to rest his soul, so she had taken his crucifix and ran, hoping that a belated prayer using this would be enough. When she had realised that she had picked up a samurai sword, she had allowed herself a small smile. When she had returned to the camp, after the initial excitement and relief of seeing Georgie, Adele had noticed the sword. Grinning, Georgie had handed it over to her friend, who had almost danced with excitement at finally getting her own samurai sword. She had laid it on the floor of the bus that first night that they had slept there, and practised slashing the air with it, obviously dying to put it to the test on a real walker. Georgie was glad that Adele had something to keep her occupied.

"Georgie? You out there. Don't wonder off so far. Billy's leaving soon." Georgie twisted her head slightly to look behind her. Didn't T-Dog get it? That was why she was out here on her own, to avoid having to say goodbye. To be fair, it had been pretty obvious that Billy would leave them once they were established. She knew he was desperate to find out what had happened to his daughter, and now he was free of the complex, he was able to find out. Still, she felt betrayed. Carlos was gone, and they were about to lose Billy. Couldn't he stay for a month or so? She didn't see why they had to lose so many so quickly, Lori, Tyrese, Carlos and now Billy. It wasn't fair. She clenched her fists in frustration and anger. Fair? What was fair about anything nowadays? She shook her head and scowled.

"Grow up Georgie," she muttered to herself. "Be strong. Be strong for the group. Let Billy go. Help T-Dog. Keep it together." She slowly got to her feet. Roughly rubbing her eyes, she turned and walked back into the camp.


	2. Farewell

**Adele**

"There she is. I see her." Ben pulled on Adele's elbow and pointed. Adele saw Georgie walking through the trees, wrapped one of the thin blankets they'd 'liberated' from a small farm house two days ago. She looked calm and serene, smiling slightly as she made her way through the long grass towards them. Adele frowned. Something had not been quite right with Georgie since the prison. She seemed to spend her days looking for things to do, frantically busy, either hunting, planning, keeping an eye on the kids, discussing plans with T-Dog and Dale. She never stopped moving, never stopped doing anything. Even at night, she would fidget and talk, It was as if she was determined not to rest. Once, Adele had been woken by her in the middle of the night, seemingly having some a nightmare. When she had jerked awake, Adele had waited for her to tell her what was wrong. Instead, Georgie had turned over and gone back to sleep. It wasn't like her not to talk about things. Frustrated, Adele had asked Ben what he thought.

"It might be Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome." Adele had wrinkled her nose.

"Really?" She couldn't imagine Georgie being stressed about anything.

"Of course. She went through something really awful. She saw Carlos and all your friends dead, Judith smothered by the Governor. I'm surprised all four of them don't have it." Ben went on. "She might have survivors guilt; she may feel responsible for their death; she may just not know how to deal with it all." He paused, furrowing his forehead, trying to remember what his textbooks had said. "She does seem to have the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress...bad dreams... trouble sleeping...less expressive...headaches hyperawareness..."

"Hyper what?"

"Hyperawareness. Means she's almost on the lookout for anything else that might go wrong all the time. It's pretty common." When Adele had asked what he could do, Bens answer had been frustratingly vague. "Not a lot I'm afraid. Usually, I'd prescribe Prozac, but..." He shrugged. "Best thing we can do is get her to talk about it." Adele frowned.

"I've tried that. She just says the same things-what happened, but not how she feels about it. That or she just goes off to do something else that doesn't need doing. Can't you try?" Ben had shaken his head.

"If she won't talk to you, what chance do I have?" On seeing Adele's face, he'd hugged her hard. "Look, there are no drugs or alcohol for her to abuse and everyone is looking out for everyone else. She'll talk when she's ready." Adele had had to take his opinion on the situation, but it didn't make her feel much better.

Looking at Georgie now, Adele couldn't see improvement or decline. Georgie was smiling wanly, dark circles under her eyes. She looked pale and although she was still walking in her confident stride, it was slower. She did look alert and watchful, and Adele noticed her eyes flick around the group until they found Carl and Sophie. Adele drew in her breath and let it out slowly. Was anyone else apart from her noticing this? She looked around. Most people were just chatting casually, waiting for Billy to leave. Rick was sat in the driver's seat of the bus, Carol on the step, watching Sophie and Carl. T-Dog was talking to Billy, Miao not far away. Glenn and Maggie were sat on the ground, watching Katie drape herself over Daryl, who seemed inclined neither to stop nor encourage her. Upon seeing Georgie, T-Dog waved her over.

"You almost missed him. Where've you been?" Georgie wondered over, shaking her head.

"He wouldn't have left without saying goodbye." She held her hand out to Billy, somewhat formally. Without missing a beat, the biker enveloped her in a huge hug. Georgie tensed for a moment (Adele's eyes narrowed-again, someone had to have seen that surely?) and then her arms crept around Billy's waist. Billy grinned and murmured something in her ear-Adele couldn't make out what-and then released her. Georgie stepped back and grinned feebly.

As Billy stepped onto the dirt bike that T-Dog and Andrea had ridden into the camp on a week or so earlier, Adele felt a sudden lump enter her throat. She fingered the photo Billy had given her-or the half he had given her. She knew that he had been thinking about his daughter since they had escaped the complex, that he wanted to look for her, make sure she was ok. Still, now that the time had come, she was still sad to see him go. She knew he had looked out for her in the complex, probably more than she knew. She didn't begrudge him any chance to find his daughter; it was just well she was really going to miss him. She felt Ben's hand close around hers and felt a little better.

With one last look behind him, one last wave and smile, Billy revved the engine of the bike, and sped off into the distance. Adele watched him leave until he was little more than a blimp on the horizon. When she could no longer see him, she turned to find Georgie. She was close by, playing some sort of clapping game with Sophie, watched by Carol. She made her way over to her, and crouched down next to her.

"He'll be ok you know. It's Billy." Georgie didn't look up at her, but remained engrossed in keeping a steady beat going.

"I know. I'll just miss him." Adele sat on the ground. They sat in silence for a moment, Adele thinking, Georgie and Sophie clapping. It was Adele who broke the silence.

"What did Billy say to you? Just then?" Georgie started, and broke the beat of the clapping. Sophie laughed out loud in glee.

"I won! I won! Now you have to teach me to shoot a bow and arrow!" Georgie grinned guiltily at Carol.

"Sorry, Carol, I guess I do." Carol smiled.

"It's ok. I know you'll be responsible." She got up from the bus steps. "Come on Sophie, let's go wash up before breakfast. I bet there's still some rabbit left over."

"It won't be enough." Sophie moaned as she got up. "I'll still be hungry." Mother and daughter walked to the clearing across from the camp, where a small lake was. Georgie stood quickly-too quickly Adele noted-and grabbed her bow and arrow which was lying under the bus.

"I'd better go too. Cover them. I don't like all those trees around the lake-it's too easy for walkers to creep up on you." Before Adele could protest, she was following Carol and Sophie to the lake. Adele grimaced in frustration. Standing up, she patted herself down.

"She's not coping." She started and turned to the bus, to see Rick.

"What?" She turned, to look at him. He hadn't spoken to her since Lori had died, instead keeping to himself and looking after Carl. The sound of his voice shocked her.

"She may look like she is, but sooner or later, she'll snap. She's not allowing herself time to grieve." Rick was looking after Georgie with worried expression on his face. "She needs to stop worrying about everyone else and just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't know. Cry. Scream. Hit something. Anything but stay in denial. " Rick sighed and stood up. Walking down the steps of the bus, he stopped in front of Adele. "I know I haven't been much use recently, but I have seen things. Lori said once, that we all needed time to be human. Georgie isn't letting herself do that. She's trying to be superwoman or something, like she can stop anyone else dying." He looked straight in Adele's face.

"Every night, I've wondered if I could have done something different, stopped Lori dying. And I can't think of anything. What happened, happened. I can't change that. If it's someone's time to go, they'll go. Georgie should know that." He sighed deeply and walked to T-Dog. Adele suddenly realised why this seemingly over emotional man had been leader. He understood how people worked. She felt an overwhelming sense of respect for him. But he was wrong. Georgie was too strong, she wouldn't break. Adele knew she could make her listen and talk.


	3. Determination

**T-Dog**

"Ah come on man it ain't that hard." T-Dog looked at Daryl and scowled. To his right, Maggie, Glenn and Miao were stood, watching his first lesson with a bow and arrow. Daryl had been trying to teach him how to shoot for a half hour. It was not going well. So far, T-Dog had not only failed to hit the mark Daryl had carved into the tree ten paces away, he had failed to hit the tree full stop. Daryl had shown surprising patience for the first few misses, but his frustration was as evident as T-Dogs. He impatiently gathered up the five arrows that were scattered around the target and brought them back.

"You'll get it this time T-Dog," Miao called out encouragingly. "Just do your best." T-Dog smiled back at the slim Asian woman, and then frowned as Daryl approached him. He and Daryl had been getting along much better since they had left the complex-he almost saw him as something like a friend. Jokingly, he had suggested Daryl should teach him to shoot a crossbow, in case they should happen upon an armoury store that stocked them, seeing how effective he and Georgie were at shooting with them. He had promptly forgotten all about it, but apparently Daryl hadn't. And now he had blisters on his fingers from loading the bow-although it was fired mechanically, the string needed a lot of force to be loaded-and was close to killing Daryl-either on purpose or accidentally was left to be seen.

"An stop shuttin ya eyes." Daryl muttered as he tossed the pile of arrows at T-Dogs feet. "How do you expect to hit what you can't see?" T-Dog feel embarrassed-he had been shutting his eyes as he fired, almost as if he was afraid that the arrow would fly backwards. He shifted his feet and loaded the bow. Standing firm, he loaded the bow, and pulled it into his shoulder like Daryl had shown him. He focused on the mark on the tree and took a deep breath.

"Both eyes open!" Glenn's voice rang out, followed by shh's from the others. T-Dog obediently opened his left eye. Slowly he released his breath, at the same time pulling the trigger on the bow, all the while keeping his eyes as open as possible.

_THUNK!_

T-Dog let out a small cheer. The arrow was firmly lodged in the tree trunk, a foot or so below Daryl's mark. Glenn and Maggie let out over enthusiastic cheers and Miao clapped her hands. Even Daryl cracked out a small smile.

"About time ya hit the tree. I mean, it's right there." He passed another arrow. "Shoot another one." T-Dog went to reload the bow, but a voice suddenly interrupted their practise.

"Daryl? You around here?" Daryl groaned, and T-Dog grinned.

"Your girlfriends looking for you better go see what she wants." He handed back the bow. "I'm happy to end on a high note."

"She ain't my girlfriend." Daryl collected his arrows, but made no move to go towards the voice. "I swear, I fuckin' slept with her one time an now she won't leave me alone." Glenn laughed.

"Be careful, if she fought in the same team as Georgie and Adele, she'll be able to take you on no problem."

"I think taking him on was what caused the problem in the first place," T-Dog spluttered. Both he and Glenn broke into laughter, whilst Maggie and Miao looked vaguely scandalised. Rustling noises from behind them, made them momentarily tense, and then relax as Carol, Georgie and Sophie wondered through from the lake.

"What's all the laughing about?" Carol looked inquisitive.

"Daryl! Come on, stop fooling around, where are you?"

A look of understanding flashed over Carols face. "Hiding from Katie again?"

"She won't leave me alone. An she keeps tryin ta make me talk about things." The frustrated look on Daryl's face made T-Dog burst out laughing all over again.

"She wants you to _talk _to her? Heaven forbid," Carol said drily. "Well, if you will-" here she looked at Sophie and lowered her voice-"drop your trousers at the first chance; this is what you'll get."

"She started it." Daryl's voice took on a sulky quality. "She threw herself at me."

"And you caught her!" Maggie's look of righteous indignation switched to a mischievous grin that made her face look almost impish. T-Dog caught Glenn sneaking a look at her from the corner of his eye.

Daryl looked ready to retort with something biting, when Katie's voice called out again, even closer. He cursed something under his breath, and moved forward, pulling Georgie with him.

"We're goin' hunting." Georgie pulled her arm away

"Oh no! Don't make me part of your little soap opera! Don't you think fighting walkers is enough for me without Katie accusing me of stealing her man?" Her tone was light and humorous, but T-Dog saw that her eyes were still expressionless, as they had been since they had escaped the complex. He chewed the inside of his mouth. He knew that there was something going on with Georgie, and he wanted to talk to her. But before he could speak, Daryl had grabbed Georgie's arm again and half dragged her protesting back into the bush where they had come from, leaving Carol and Glenn chuckling quietly. Less than a minute later, Katie emerged into the clearing.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Daryl." She pushed her coppery red hair from her face, and scrutinised the group from deep grass green eyes. T-Dog couldn't help but admire her. Having not been on the receiving end of systematic violence at the complex, and being kept fairly well fed, Katie was easily the prettiest women in the group, and she seemed to know it. She had quickly singled out Daryl as someone she was 'interested' in, and engaged in pretty unsubtle flirting with him. Unsurprisingly the two of them had 'disappeared' very quickly for half a day-irritating when you were trying to keep a camp together to move on faster. However, she and Daryl seemed to have very different ideas about the status of their relationship. Meaning, she had decided they were in one, Daryl hadn't. Now, as she stood waiting for their response, T-Dog recollected Adele's comments about Katie:

"She's ok. More interested in having a man, even during this crap. Kind of determined as well if you know what I mean." T-Dog suddenly wondered how well she and Georgie actually got on, and if mentioning who Daryl was with was a good idea. Before he could lie, Glenn opened his mouth.

"He said something about hunting. We need to stock up on meat-he took Georgie with him." Katie's eyes narrowed at the mention of Georgie's name.

"Can't anyone else hunt with him? He's always hunting with her." Her stare was almost poisonous, and Glenn seemed to wilt.

"Well, you know, he can't...Georgie's a good shot and...well..."

"She won't distract him like you would." Miao chipped in quickly. "He needs to focus, and you'd distract him. Georgie just gets on with it. I mean, Georgie's Georgie, but _you..._" T-Dog shot Miao a glance that said _Well done_ and she smiled back. He glanced at Katie to see if she had brought the lie. He face had softened slightly, but her eyes were still narrowed.

"Well...just tell him I'm looking for him will you?" She turned on her heel, and strode back towards the camp. T-Dog let out a breath and looked at the rest of the group. Carol gave him a knowing look.

"We have to keep an eye on that situation. Last thing we need is a soap opera unfolding in the camp, causing tension." She paused and looked at the sky, which was grey and overcast. "Winters coming, with bad weather-snow, storms-and we're camping in it." She looked at T-Dog. "We've got enough to worry about just surviving nature and walkers."

T-Dog nodded. As the rest of the group turned back to camp, he looked back to where Georgie and Daryl had gone. He groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"Dammit Daryl, you've really done it this time."


	4. Organisation

The camp had been on the move for around a week, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the herd of walkers that had infiltrated the complex. They had travelled mostly by day, stopping around an hour before the sun set, to hunt and set up camp. As they had travelled, the group had kept an eye out for any houses or small towns that they could possibly raid for supplies, but they had had little luck. They had managed to secure some blankets and warmer clothes, for the colder weather, but they were still low on fire arms, medical supplies and most importantly food.

On the sixth day, the group had come across a path leading off the main road, into the wooded area on the side. On closer inspection, Dale had concluded that it looked like an old hunting track. So, T-Dog had taken Daryl and Adele to explore the area. Their luck had been in.

It hadn't just been a hunting track, it had been part of a hunting holiday complex. They had found an open space, sheltered by trees to park up the RV, bikes and bus. It offered some protection from the elements, and was close to a lake that was connected to a running river, keeping the water fresh, rather than stagnant. Even better than that, they had discovered a cabin close by that was supplied with plenty of hunting equipment-bullets and guns, arrows and cross bows and even a few sturdy tents. This discovery, coupled with the absence of any walkers in the area had made the majority of the group feel much safer.

The group had quickly set up camp, arranging themselves into groups and pitching tents close to the centre of the area, similar to how they had arranged themselves in Atlanta. Andrea and Dale had remained living in the RV, and Rick and Carl had taken up residence in the bus. The rest of the group had grouped themselves up into the tents-Adele and Georgie had immediately taken a tent for themselves; as had Miao and Maggie, leaving Katie to share with Carol and Sophie. Glenn had very quickly asked to team up with T-Dog, leaving an understandably nervous Ben to share with Daryl. Ben was convinced that Daryl had still not forgiven him for pointing the finger at him over the shooting of Ryan, to protect Adele. T-Dog, on the other hand, knew that the impressive black eye Ben was currently sporting was enough to get Daryl over the incident.

It wasn't just Georgie that T-Dog had been worried about. Since the death of Lori, Rick had been withdrawn and quiet. T-Dog had raised the issue with Dale, who had advised him to give Rick time-although he wasn't communicating with the rest of the group, he seemed to be dealing with the grieving process well. Andrea and Carol had been taking turns looking after Carl, making sure he wasn't neglected too much and generally looking out for him. Carl seemed to understand what had happened to his mother, and although he understandably was devastated, the incident seemed to have made him more determined to grow up and be 'useful'. He, along with Sophie, had pestered Adele and Georgie in turn to continue to teach them to shoot with firearms and a bow as soon as they had found out that there were weapons available. Both girls had refused unless Carol and Rick had given it the ok, which T-Dog thought was unusually responsible of the pair-usually, they jumped at the opportunity to do any sort of training with anyone.

As he entered the camp site, he saw Dale sat on top of his RV, shotgun in hand. Grinning, T-Dog gave him a wave, and walked over the RV. He hauled himself up onto the roof and sat crossed legged next to the old man.

"What's hangin Dale?" Dale turned and gave him a smile.

"Nothing. That's the beauty of it. There's been no sign of walkers, we have water and weapons, and I'm sure Daryl and Georgie will find us some food soon. You found us a really good place here T-Dog." T-Dog felt a flush of pride, at the old man's words, but remained modest.

"We've only been here one night. Let's see how it pans out before we get too excited. I mean, it's coming up to winter, so..." Dale waved his words away impatiently.

"I know, I know, but look at the campers." He pointed to Maggie and Glenn, who were laughing at some private joke, and Andrea and Carol, who were smiling and talking as they tended the fire. "I haven't seen so much hope since we got to the complex. He turned to T-Dog. "You've given us hope T-Dog." He leant forward and lowered his voice confidentially. "Some of us have been talking. Ricks been a good leader, he's led us right from the start, but...he's not in a good place right now. It's kind of obvious to us all that you're a leader too. We were thinking that maybe you two could create a coalition or a committee, when he, you know, recovers. Maybe get some other people on it. Share the responsibility."

T-Dog looked at Dale with interest. He could hear the logic of Dale's idea, he had found being responsible for the lives of the whole camp more stressful than anything he had ever done before. He nodded his head slowly. "Who else were you thinking of?"

"Well..."Dale paused. "We were thinking maybe Glenn, Adele and Georgie. Keep it equal-I don't think Andrea would be too happy if there weren't some woman on the committee-even though she doesn't want to be on it herself." T-Dog nodded. Although he wasn't sure that Glenn would want to be in charge of any decisions that would affect the fate of the camp, he thought Adele would be a good choice. As for Georgie, he reasoned that being on a committee could be a gentle hint for her to share responsibility and perhaps open up. He looked at Dale.

"We'll open it up for discussion tonight." A movement at the foot of the RV made him start. As he looked down, he saw Rick standing there, looking up at the two men. He was pale, with dark circles around his red rimmed eyes. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were particularly crumpled. But the stoop had gone from his shoulders, and there was something of the old easy calm back in his manner. T-Dog felt a jolt of relief-it looked like Rick was back in business. He moved to the ladder at the side of the RV and started to climb down it. Before his head disappeared, he spoke to Dale.

"I'll ask Rick what he thinks of the idea now."


	5. Lessons

**Sophie**

"Is it really mine?" Sophie reverently took the crossbow from Georgie and stared at it. It was just like the one Georgie had, but shinier and smaller. She looked up at Georgie wide eyed. Georgie grinned.

"Of course it is silly-you can't shoot with mine. It's too big. And Daryl's is even bigger. You need a Sophie sized bow. And...Sophie sized arrows." Like a magician, Georgie produced a handful of small arrows from behind her back. Sophie gasped.

"Where on earth did you get a hold of them?" Carol sounded just as surprised as Sophie.

"That cabin we went past had them. This must have been like a family retreat or something. Explains why there's so much game for us to shoot." Georgie spoke over Sophie's head to her mother. Sophie spun around, afraid that her mum would change her mind.

"Mommy, please let Georgie teach me. I'll do everything she tells me to, and I won't be silly, I promise." Her mother smiled at her indulgently.

"I know you won't baby. But you're not keeping that with you, Georgie will be looking after it for you."

"Yes I will." Georgie's voice cut across Sophie's moans of disappointment. "Learning to shoot is only part of this Sophie. You need to learn to be responsible for your bow. Until you can maintain it properly, I'll be looking after it."

Sophie pouted and looked down at her new bow. "It's so unfair," she thought. "I only just got this and now they're making me give it away." She was so wrapped up in her sulk; she didn't notice the smiles Carol and Georgie shot at each other.

"You ready to learn then Short Stuff?" Georgie ruffled Sophie's hair and picked up her own bow and arrow.

"Are we starting now?" Sophie forgot her bad mood in her excitement.

"No time like the present. We're going to stay in camp at first, and shot at trees on the outskirts. Everyone's here so we won't hurt anyone. Unless you want to wait..?"

"No, no! Let's start now!" Sophie started jumping up and down in glee, unable to suppress her excitement. She was going to learn to shot a bow and arrow-just like Georgie! She bounced over to the spot that Georgie pointed out, chattering nonsense excitedly.

Ever since Georgie had rescued her from the walker under the car, Sophie had wanted to be like her. As far as Sophie was concerned, Georgie and Adele-were superheroes. They fought men and won; killed walkers; got supplies from over run towns; shot guns and bows; in short, they could do anything. When they had been in the prison, they had looked after her and Carl, and protected them. One of Sophie's most vivid memories from the prison was the day she had been running in the yard outside, and had bumped into a huge man. Straight away, the man had turned on her, yelling and calling her bad names, just like her dad use to do to her mom. She had cowered and tried to get away from him, afraid that he would start to hit her, but he had grabbed her arm and held it tightly, even when she had started to cry. Out of nowhere, Georgie had appeared, and punched the man square in the face, knocking him to the floor. She had scooped her up into her arms, and started to march away with Sophie sobbing into her neck and clinging to her. When the bad man had got up and started yelling at her, Georgie had turned around, and asked him if he wanted to settle it in the ring. The bad man had stopped yelling, and let her go.

That moment was a revelation to Sophie. She had grown up watching her father yell and hit her mother for most of her life, and at first had assumed that all parents were like that. It was only when she started school that she realised that actually, none of the other girls and boys parents acted like that. No one else's mother turned up at school with 'unexplainable' bruises, and spoke in whispers around their husbands. Sophie soon learnt that her mom and dad were different, and that she shouldn't tell anyone about it. She learnt from her mom when to be quiet, when to creep around her father, when to go to her room and stay there. Seeing Georgie and Adele in the ring, and around the prison, Sophie had realised that it was possible to stick up for yourself and win, that creeping around like her mother did wasn't her only option. Although she loved her mother very much, even at her young age, she had realised she didn't want to grow up to be like her, not in this world. She wanted to be like Adele and Georgie and not be scared of anything, as an oppose to her mother, who seemed to be afraid of everything.

She stopped in front of the trees where Georgie had pointed and waited impatiently. Katie, the pretty lady who had come with them from the complex, T-Dog and Glenn were sat close by. She waved excitedly.

"Glenn! T-Dog! Georgie's teaching me to shoot!" T-Dog grinned.

"Lucky you. I bet she won't be as impatient a teacher as Daryl. He tried to teach me this morning." Georgie strolled over and crouched down next to Sophie. Turning to T-Dog she leant her head over to one side.

"Sophie is going to be amazing T-Dog, at least a hundred times better then you." She turned to Sophie. "Isn't that right Short stuff?" Sophie punched the air in excitement.

"A GAZILLION times better!" T-Dog laughed.

"Whoa, big words from such a little lady. I think I'm going to stick around." He and Glenn rearranged their legs and watched Georgie talk Sophie through loading the crossbow. It took Sophie three go's to get the bowstring to click into place, but finally she did it. Then, Georgie showed her how to load the arrow into the flight groove, how far to slide the bolt back, and then finally, how to aim.

"Ok, you see that funny knobbly bit on that tree there? That looks like a nose?" Georgie pointed at the shape on the tree. "That's where you're aiming. Try and get it as close as you can. Don't close your eye; you don't walk around with one eye closed do you? Take a deep breath and ignore everything-yes especially Glenn." Glenn instantly stopped making faces that Sophie could see out of the corner of her eye and looked ashamed. Sophie giggled, and then stopped. If she wanted to keep the bow, she had to show she was grown up, and a grown up wouldn't be giggling right now. She stared at the tree, and took a deep breath, like Georgie had told her. She pulled on the trigger.

_WOOSH_

The arrow went straight past the tree into the bush behind. Sophie felt the disappointment well up in her and she stomped her foot in frustration.

"I missed!" She waited for Georgie to tell her off, but instead Georgie handed her another arrow.

"You were really close though. Hardly anyone hits the mark on their first try. Have another go, load up just like I told you ok." Sophie swallowed her disappointment, and slowly loaded up the crossbow, occasionally being prompted by Georgie, and tried again. Twice more she missed, but the fourth time:

_THUNK_

"WOW! Sophie well done!" Georgie whooped loudly and Glenn and T-Dog cheered behind her. The arrow was stuck firmly into the trunk of the tree-nowhere near the mark Georgie had pointed out, but in the tree none the less. As Georgie went to collect the four arrows, Glenn tapped Sophie on the shoulder and whispered loudly so that T-Dog could hear:

"It took T-Dog 15 tries to hit the tree. I counted." T-Dog nodded, looking comically ashamed of himself. Sophie beamed with pride. She was better than an adult! She was better than T-Dog! Georgie ran up with the arrows and handed them back to Sophie.

"Think you can do that again?" Sophie nodded. The next half hour, Sophie managed to hit the tree another ten times-each time getting closer to her target. When Georgie finally took the bow off her, she couldn't help moaning in disappointment.

"Hey, you don't want to overdo it. Your shoulder is going to really hurt later." Georgie smiled at Sophie and ruffled her hair.

"You were really good today hun." Sophie turned to see Katie bending down to her height. She was smiling, but a face smile, not a real smile with the eyes, and she was using that voice that some adults use when they're talking to children and they're not use to talking to them. Sophie mumbled thank you, and moved closer to Georgie. Katie didn't move, but kept on smiling her face smile.

"Aren't you lucky to have a good teacher like Georgie," she went on, although the way she said it made it sound as if she didn't really think Sophie was lucky at all. "Although I'm sure if you asked Daryl nicely, he could teach you too. Would you like to ask Daryl?" Sophie shook her head. She was scared of Daryl. He seemed to be angry all the time, and never really smiled. She didn't think he liked her very much, and she was certain he would shout at her if she did something wrong.

"I like being taught by Georgie," she mumbled. Katie's eyes narrowed and she stood up.

"Well. Isn't that sweet," she said staring at Georgie, and walked away to camp.

Glenn breathed in sharply, and looked at Georgie.

"Dude, she is after you." Georgie took Sophie's hand and squeezed it. Sophie looked up at Georgie and was comforted slightly by her smile-although it too, was just a face smile. She looked at Glenn and T-Dog, who looked worried.

"Maybe you should keep a distance from Daryl for a while. If she thinks you're not a threat, she might back off." Georgie nodded, agreeing with T-Dog, and then tugged Sophie's hand.

"Come on Sophie, let's go get clean for dinner. We got rabbit and squirrel." She stopped and sighed. "Squirrel. Urk." They moved off towards Sophie's tent and all thoughts of the conversation was erased from Sophie's mind as she raced to tell her mom all about her advances in archery that afternoon.


	6. Democracy

**T-Dog**

Sat around the fire that night, T-Dog felt a sense of peace he hadn't felt during the outbreak since the group had been outside of Atlanta. Things seemed to be looking up. Everyone was for once relaxed and settled, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Rick had started to pull himself out of his grief, and he, T-Dog and Dale had spent the day discussing the idea of a 'council' for the group. The more they spoke about it, the better an idea it sounded. All they needed to do was actually run it past the group and see what they thought-although T-Dog didn't see how anyone could object. He sat up straighter and cleared his throat. Instantly, everyone fell quiet and looked to him. T-Dog still couldn't get over that, how they just looked to him for leadership now. He liked it, but he wouldn't miss the pressure of being expected to say something profound every time he opened his mouth.

"Erm, ok. So. Me and Dale, we've been talking about the situation here and we had an idea. We were thinking that we should try and stick to the old system, before the whole world collapsed. I mean, you saw what happened at the complex, with the dictatorship." He saw Adele and Georgie across the flames. Adele shuddered, and shifted closer to Ben, who instinctively put his arm around her. Georgie made no movement. He went on.

"So we thought we could maybe have a committee or a counsel of some sort. Rather than one person in charge, like it's been up til now. We had a few ideas on who we might get in on it, but we kind of wanted to know what you all thought. Maybe vote on it." He looked around the fire. "So...what do you think?"

Daryl was the first to speak up.

"You gonna be on this, committee thing?" T-Dog shrugged.

"If people want me to be."

"Ya got us out of the complex. Ya done most of the hard work so far. I reckon you should jus' stay in charge." A few heads nodded in agreement. T-Dog was pleased to see Miao was one of the people who agreed.

"Yeah, but, it's kind of stressful. I'd like the help and not to make all the decisions." Daryl looked thoughtful.

"Well, as long as ya on the thing, I don't give a rats ass. China man can have my vote." He bent his head over his plate and carried on shovelling rabbit into his mouth. T-Dog glanced at Dale, who just grinned. He was thankful-and slightly taken aback-by Daryl's loyalty. He supposed this meant they were friends now, which made him feel like he'd stepped into a twilight zone of some sort.

"Who else did you have in mind for the committee then?" He was jerked out of his musings by Ben, who still had his arm wrapped around Adele's shoulder.

"T-Dog obviously." Dale spoke up before T-Dog could answer. "Rick maybe. Glenn too." There was a mummer of approval.

"You should be on it too." Carol spoke softly. "You have as much right as anyone." Dale looked modest.

"I don't really have much interest in the thing. I'm happy to take orders and just do my share."

"Me too." Glenn spoke up, looking anxious. "I mean, wow, thanks for considering me, but I've seen the decisions you guys have had to make, and...I don't think I could...I mean..." He trailed off, and Maggie gave his hand a sympathetic squeeze.

"Well it's not compulsory." T-Dog found his voice. "No one HAS to do it."

"Why is it all men?" Miao's voice rang over the fire.

"That's what I was thinking." Katie sat up straighter, whilst still managing to eliminate any space between herself and Daryl. "There are plenty of woman here who are strong, good leaders, good fighters, calm in a crisis. We're not just here to be damsels in distress you know. You need a woman on the group, not just for equality, but because we're just as good as you men." She looked around the group as she spoke, and T-Dog realised that she wasn't talking about the women, but herself. He groaned inwardly. Katie was difficult to deal with at the best of times, and hadn't really bonded with anyone (unless you counted Daryl.) She hadn't even really tried. He couldn't imagine her being a fair and just committee member.

"Actually, we were hoping Adele and Georgie would be on the committee with us." Rick shifted a dozing Carl from the floor to his lap and looked directly at Katie. His face was neutral, but his voice carried a hint of the old command it had had in Atlanta. "They've had experience leading at the complex, they're not just good fighters, they can plan and foresee and they have tactical skill." He turned and smiled at Adele and Georgie. "We wouldn't be complete without them." Carol grinned, and Andrea, Miao and Glenn applauded briefly. Even Daryl grunted his approval through a mouthful. T-Dog glanced at Rick. It had been hard to convince him that Georgie would be ok to lead the group. T-Dog and Dale both argued that the responsibility would be good for her, force her to stop dwelling on whatever was haunting her. And it would be easier to keep an eye on her that way. Rick had agreed reluctantly, but you would never know from the way he was smiling now. T-Dog turned his attention to Katie. She looked furious. T-Dog wondered if she would accept the new order or make trouble.

"I don't want to." Georgie's voice was quiet, but firm. Everyone looked at her. She slowly placed her plat on the floor. "Katie can have my place. She wants to do it, let her." Ben reached around Adele and touched her arm.

"Georgie, I don't know how anyone else feels, but, you and Adele, you both should be doing this. It's for the good of everyone. You both know so much..."

"I would feel better if I knew you were helping lead," Andrea chimed in. "I think we all would."

Georgie shook her head. "You said no one HAD to do it. Well I'm not. I don't want to be in charge of anyone. I'll do my bit, but I don't want any responsibility on that level." Her voice broke slightly on the last words, and T-Dog wondered if she was going to cry. Adele looked concerned, and went to whisper something in her ear, but Georgie stood up and walked to her tent. After a pause, T-Dog went to go after her, but a hand on her arm stopped him. He looked down, and Rick shook his head slowly.

After a brief awkward pause, Rick spoke.

"That makes three then. Me, T-Dog and Adele. Personally I think it should be four. First things first, any objections to myself, T-Dog and Adele?" No one spoke. Rick nodded. "Ok. So who wants to be the fourth?" Katie raised her hand. Rick nodded at her.

"Well, based on the reasons you gave for choosing Adele and _Georgie_" Katie's mouth seemed to twist on the last word, "I think I'm a pretty good choice. I lived in the complex. I trained, I fought. I hunted. So why not me?" She looked around the group smiling, as if it was a given. Rick nodded, as if he was considering her point.

"All those in favour, raise your hands." Katie's smile faded when no one raised their hands.

"It's nothing personal." Andrea tried to reassure her. "But, we don't know you as well as Adele and Georgie. And, well, you did fight, but you didn't train people like they did. I think we'd feel more comfortable with someone we knew well."

"It's ok." Katie's voice was falsely cheerful and high. "I understand, of course. You want people you know and trust." She sank back against her chair and glared at Daryl, who continued to ignore her.

"Dale." Dale looked at Ben, who was leaning across to him. "I think it should be you. I mean, Georgie may change her mind when she's feeling better, but until she does, I think you're the obvious choice."

"Agreed." Maggie turned away from Glenn to smile at Dale. "You seem so wise and knowledgeable. I think you'd make a good choice."

"I think you mean old my dear," Dale quipped. He rubbed his glasses and slide them back on. "Ok. But if Georgie changes her mind, I'm stepping down. We need young blood if we're going to survive out here."

"What's up with her anyway?" Maggie looked quizzically at Adele. "She's just not herself. Not, out of it...but just...I don't know. It's not like she doesn't care, but..." she trailed off. Adele sighed.

"I don't know. I just can't figure her out right now." Andrea and Daryl exchanged a look that didn't go unnoticed by T-Dog.

"You two wanna share something with the class?" Andrea shifted uncomfortably.

"Didn't you hear what the Governor said to her? That he saw her as a daughter, his project? If I was her, and I heard that from him, I'd be a little messed up too."

"That's bullshit." Daryl didn't shout the sentence, but Sophie, who had been lying with her head in her mothers lap half asleep still started. "That man was batshit crazy. Georgie an Adele ain't nothing like him. Man, everything they done's been ta try ta keep everyone alive. Georgie needs to snap outta it."

T-Dog felt like an idiot. With all that had happened, with the horror of baby Judith, he had forgotten the conversation that had taken place at the same time. He recollected with a jolt the look on Georgie's face, how the colour had drained out of it; that she had looked ready to vomit. Adele looked horrified.

"He said that to her? Jesus!" She made to get up, but T-Dog shook his head.

"Adele, he didn't just say it about her. He said you both were. If you go in there now, she'll have to explain why she didn't tell you and that's just gonna get messy." He stood up and stretched. "It's late. I want to sleep. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Maybe Andrea could talk to her too. And Mr Sensitive over here." He pointed at Daryl. "It might be better coming from people who were actually there. Once we can get her to talk about the real problem, maybe she'll get back to normal." Before Adele could protest, he walked from the camp fire to his own tent. He paused outside Georgie's tent, and listened carefully.

He heard no sound from inside.


	7. Snow

When T-Dog awoke the next morning, he was struck by how silent it was. He lay in his sleeping bag for a second, straining to hear a sound from the camp. When he heard nothing, he started to panic. Cautiously, he pulled himself out of his make shift sleeping bag. As the air hit his exposed skin, he gasped. It had gotten a lot colder since the previous day. He glanced over at Glenn, who had at some point during the night huddled himself into his bag. As he breathed, T-Dog could see it mist in the air. He moved to the tent opening, grabbing one of the blankets off his bag and wrapping it around himself. Carefully, he moved aside the opening.

The whole clearing was white, covered in a thick layer of snow. T-Dog started. Could it really be this late in the year? He tried to figure out what month it might be, but he couldn't even remember if it was still 2011 or if they had moved into 2012. He pulled his boots on and moved into the snow.

It was thick, six or seven inches already. He looked up at the sky, which was black, heavy with snow. He groaned. There were already a lack of food, despite Daryl and Georgie doing their best. He couldn't see that this snow would make it easier. And if by some miracle, food did appear, they had left most of their equipment and clothes at the complex. They could very easily die from the cold. And then there was water. Would the lake have frozen over? T-Dog clenched his fists. He needed to talk to Rick, Dale and Adele as soon as they were up. In fact, screw waiting til they were up, this were urgent. He strode over to Georgie and Adele's tent and, coughing loudly, opened the flap.

To his amusement, he saw that Ben and Adele were curled up together in one sleeping bag. Ben sat up as soon as T-Dog entered, a mixture of embarrassment and shock on his face. Adele moved slower, rubbing her eyes.

"You know, just because you can't knock on a tent, doesn't mean you can't give some warning." She squinted at T-Dog. "Why is it so bright outside?" T-Dog motioned with his head.

"Snow."

"Shit." Adele reached a bare arm out her sleeping bag and grabbed her long sleeved top. "How deep?"

"At least half a foot. And there's more coming." T-Dog looked around the small tent. "Where's Georgie?"

"The bus." Adele pulled on her shirt and sat looking at T-Dog pointedly. "I'll be out in a bit. Little privacy maybe?" T-Dog grinned and withdrew his head from the tent. Almost as soon as he was outside, he heard footsteps crunching purposefully through the snow. He turned to see Daryl heading straight for him. T-Dog wasn't that surprised to see Daryl dressed with no regard for the icy weather, still wearing a thin sleeveless shirt and carrying his beloved crossbow. He waved at Daryl, who gave a curt jerk of his head in reply as he came to a halt in front of T-Dog

"What's th plan then?" T-Dog blinked.

"I don't know yet, I'm waiting for Rick and the others." Daryl looked impatient.

"Whatever. I ain't waitin' around for them. What do you want to do? Way I see it, snow's come kinda early, me an Georgie might be able to find some game to store if we go now. Cold weather'll stop it from going bad fer a while. So if you don't have a better plan, we'll go now." T-Dog felt a stab of irritation. Why was Daryl asking him? Hadn't they made it clear last night T-Dog was no longer solely in charge? And since when had Daryl needed permission to do anything.

"Man what are you stupid? I'm not in charge anymore. It's a group decision. Do what the hell you want! Jesus, when have you ever asked to do anything? Fucks sake!" T-Dog was surprised at his outburst. It wasn't as if Daryl had been particularly irritating-in fact for Daryl this was downright civil. He felt a little ashamed, but Daryl didn't react. Instead, he looked around him, and then started to speak in a slightly quieter voice to T-Dog.

"I don't care who ya _say _is in charge, far as I'm concerned, Ima only taking advice from you. I mean, look at the other people who ya voted in, some old guy, blondie an the cop. Now, I know this whole thing was based on who people trust and that shit, but when it comes to fightin', the only person who's manned up an done what needed to be done is you." He shifted his feet, starting to look uncomfortable. "An anyway...you an Georgie...y'all are the only ones who though ta come back fer me. So...I owe you both one." He squinted to the side. "I don't even reckon Merle woulda come back fer me." T-Dog looked down at his feet. Whilst he was touched by Daryl's show of loyalty, he felt just as uncomfortable as Daryl obviously was at the admittance. He coughed loudly and looked up. Daryl was still not looking at him, suddenly finding the tree to his left of extreme interest.

"Yeah well, thanks. I think you're right about the whole food thing. I'll fill the others in. You take Georgie and go do what you do. And for God's sake, put another shirt on. One with sleeves. Georgie's in the bus." Daryl grunted and walked to the bus, to find his hunting companion.

"Aww, that's so sweet." T-Dog glanced down at the tent behind him. Adele was crawling out. "You've BONDED with him." She drew herself up and grinned in Daryl's direction. "You're gonna have a bro-mance. Such a beautiful love story." T-Dog cuffed her gently around her head.

"Shut up blondie. And, if we're gonna talk about love stories, let's talk about you and Ben. We don't need another pregnancy so..."

"I am not having the safe sex talk with you. Especially not in the middle of the snow." Adele pushed T-Dogs arm from around her neck, and strode over to the RV. T-Dog laughed softly, and turned to the bus. Georgie was coming out, followed by a wide eyed Carl.

"Look at all the snow! Awesome!" Carl made to jump into the snow, but Ricks hand pulled him back.

"Warm clothes. A jacket at the least. You two as well," he said, nodding at Daryl and Georgie. Georgie rolled her eyes, and grabbed her leather jacket. Daryl ignored the request. The pair of them ambled into the trees and out of sight.

A hour later, the group had assessed the situation. Despite T-Dogs immediate fears, the situation wasn't as bad as he'd thought. Miao and Carol walked down to the lake and reported back that although the lake itself was frozen, the rivers that ran in and out of it weren't, meaning that there was still drinking water. Adele and Ben theorised that if the area really was meant to be a camping retreat for families, that there would be other cabins with warm clothes and supplies. Andrea backed up what Daryl had suggested earlier, pointing out that the snow had come in early November, and so hopefully the animals wouldn't have moved too far, giving Daryl and Georgie time to bring in a supply of food. Given that Andrea had been the only person keeping any sort of track of the time, T-Dog felt better. All in all, it was concluded that only two things could proved deadly: Walkers and the cold.

"All the same," Dale mused, "I'll feel better when Daryl and Georgie get back with some sort of meat. Knowing that we have food is important."

"Daryl went hunting with Georgie again?" At the mention of Daryl's name Katie, who had seemed disinterested throughout the whole discussion, sat up.

"They _always _go hunting together." Adele spoke matter of factly, but T-Dog could see a wicked smile on her face. "And they _always _stay out the whole day. Sometimes the whole night too."

"How the hell would you know?" Andrea spoke up, shooting Adele a warning glance. "When Daryl first taught Georgie to hunt, you were still in the complex."

"Daryl taught Georgie..." Andrea realised her mistake and bit her lip. T-Dog quickly changed the subject before Katie could explode.

"I reckon from now on, we don't store water up here. It'll freeze too easily. We just take it from the river and boil it up."

"Agreed." Rick sat forward. "I think now, we need to scout the area. Go in pairs or threes and see what we can find in terms of more cabins and supplies. Clothes are a priority right now. Why don't we start now? Volunteers?"

"I'll go." Glenn spoke up. "I'll take Maggie too."

"Me and Ben can go look too." Adele stood up, ignoring the knowing look on T-Dogs face.

"Ok, four should be enough for now" Rick stood up. "You all know how to scout the area so I won't tell you to be careful or whatever. But if it starts to snow again, you turn around, no matter what you think you're about to find and you get your asses back to camp." The four of them nodded solemnly, and moved to their respective tents to gear up and move out.


	8. Luckybreak

**Miao **

"Rick, does Georgie keep Sophie's bow and arrow in your bus?" Rick blinked and looked at Miao.

"Yeah, she does. Above the driver's seat, where this one," here he ruffled Carls hair, "can't get it." Carl scowled. "Why, what do you want it for?"

"Well, I just want one arrow. I have an idea. I don't know if it'll work, but if it does, it'll be a great thing for the camp. With your permission, I'd like to see if it'll work please." She lowered her eyes, waiting for Rick's response.

"Well, what is this great plan?" Rick spoke gently, with a hint of amusement in his voice. Miao almost didn't respond. She knew that she and Maggie weren't seen as particularly resourceful by the others. Andrea and Katie could fight. Adele and Georgie were able hunters. Even Carol was useful in so much as she looked after the children. Steeling herself, she answered.

"I don't want to raise hopes. I just have a good idea. I need to take an arrow down to the lake. With your permission," she repeated. Rick regarded her, and then nodded.

"Ok. Take an arrow. Don't go down to the lake alone though. Take someone with a gun. Walkers could be close. Take Dale with you, he's a good shot."

Half an hour later, Miao, Dale and Andrea were at the lakes edge. Dale was standing guard, watching the forest for signs of movement. Miao was explaining her idea to Andrea.

"Have you ever heard of gigging?" Miao had brushed snow off a fallen branch and was sat on it. With a long strip of tree branch she had torn off a nearby tree, she was tying Sophie's arrow onto a longer, thicker piece of wood.

"Never. What is it?" Andrea stood in front of her, hands resting on a shovel. Miao tied a last knot and triumphantly held her creation in front of her. Andrea looked confused.

"Gigging, is fishing or hunting with a spear." Miao stood up and walked towards the part of the lake where the river started to flow out. Here, the ice still held, although it looked thinner. Andrea followed. Leaning on Andreas shoulder, she gingerly placed her foot onto the ice, and pressed hard. The ice held. Frowning, Miao swapped her spear for the shovel, and struck the ice hard. At first nothing happened, so she struck it harder. After the third hit, the ice cracked and shattered. Putting the shovel down, Miao knelt and started to remove the ice, until a large hole had been made. She handed the shovel back to Andrea, and held the make shift spear in her hand. She motioned to Andrea to kneel down next to her, and continued to explain in a low voice.

"My family were all about survival and self sufficiency. My dad was really paranoid. Always thinking we'd get lost in the wilderness or something. So, he use to take us to the wilderness and teach us. I remember one day, he took us to the river, telling us we were going fishing. I was horrified-I hated fishing." A small sad smile spread across Andreas face. Miao, paused, wondering if she was going to say something, but she didn't. "Anyway, we got there, to the river, and he had these spears on the bank. We didn't even get into a boat. It was the most fun I'd had next to a river in ages."

"So, what, we just wait here, until a fish comes along and spear it?" Andrea sounded doubtful. "What if we miss?"

"That's the beauty of it. It's winter. If there are fish here, they'll be slow and sluggish. It should be easier to...THERE!"

As if to prove her point, a fish slowly wiggled under the hole. With lightening speed, Miao stabbed her spear into the water, and pulled out a large fat fish. She threw it onto the ice, where it lay flopping and gasping for air. Pulling the spear out, she lunged again, this time cutting through the fishes head. Andrea gasped in delight.

"That's brilliant!" She looked around until she spotted the tree that Miao had stripped the bark from. Running towards the tree, she clumsily stripped another wire of bark. Coming back, she tied the fish's tail to the bark, and crouched down next to the hole, eyes alight with interest.

"You girls ok there?" Dales voice drifted across from the edge of the trees. Miao didn't look up, so focused was she on her task. She heard Andrea's voice calling back:

"Yeah, we're great Dale. Why, where you going?"

"Not to be too blunt, but nature calls. I won't go far, so holler if you need me."

" Ok." As Miao speared another fish, a slightly larger one this time, she sense Andrea squatting on her heels to watch her technique. She was just getting back into position to hopefully catch a third, when they heard a strangled cry come from the forest.

"Dale!" Andrea sprang to her feet and sprinted towards the forest. Miao hesitated, torn between her instinct to run from danger, and her desire to help Dale. Steeling herself, she picked up the shovel, and followed Andrea to Dale.

Five minutes into the forest, she found Andrea and Dale. Dale was sat back on his hands, a look of shock etched into his face, repeating "Oh God" over and over again. Andrea had her arms wrapped around him, hugging him as tightly as she could. At first Miao wasn't sure why Dale had yelled out, then she looked down at Dales feet.

Lying on the ground, half covered by snow, a walker was lying. It might have been a young man once, but now it was barely recognisable as human. It's nose and lower face had been eaten away by decay, and it's hair was frozen to its skull. It didn't move, aside from the slow clacking of its jaw.

"Oh my god Dale, are you ok? Did it hurt you? Are you ok?" Andreas arms were so tightly wrapped around Dales neck, Miao was surprised he wasn't choking. Sudden movement from up ahead made them all jump, then relax as Adele, T-Dog and Rick burst through the clearing.

"I'm fine Andrea, I fell is all. It didn't bite or scratch me. I'll be fine." Dale reached his hand up and squeezed Andreas, who buried her face in his neck. Miao realised she was crying.

"What's wrong with it?" Rick moved cautiously towards the corpse. T-Dog moved closer and knelt over it.

"I think it's frozen." He leaned forward to get a better look. A deep rattling growl emerged from the things mouth. T-Dog yelped, and fell backwards. Miao couldn't help the giggle that came from her mouth. T-Dog looked at her sheepishly.

"That's pretty much what happened to me." Dale sat up straighter. "Funnier when you see it happen to someone else though." He looked at Rick. "I didn't even see it."

Miao moved around to T-Dog and reached her hand out to help him up. T-Dog took it and got off the ground. Miao felt the familiar heat on the back of her next that she got every time she was near T-Dog. She tried to distract herself with what Rick was saying.

"I guess the lack of warm blood in their bodies means they freeze easier. Good to know." Rick turned to Miao. "We don't need to worry so much about walkers as long as the cold weather holds up." He grabbed the shovel from Miao, and sliced the top of the walkers head open. He handed the shovel back to Miao. "From now on, we need to make sure we watch where we step. At all times." With that, he turned around and walked back to the camp, closely followed by Adele. T-Dog lingered behind.

"You ok Miao?" Miao nodded, concentrating on the feel of the shovel in her hand.

"We're ok. We're gigging." T-Dog looked confused.

"Oh. Ok. Well, holler if you need us. We're just in the camp, re organising the tents. You know, so they're closer in the cold weather. So...we're not far." His voice trailed off slightly.

"Ok. Thanks." Miao watch T-Dog walk to the camp and then turned to face Dale and Andrea. Both were on their feet. Both were watching her with knowing looks on their faces. Miao looked down at the ground and rushed past them, back to the lake and her spear.


	9. ThinIce

**Sophie**

"But why can't I?" Sophie pouted, arms akimbo, glaring at Georgie and Daryl. "I'm getting real good-"

"_REALLY_ good Sophie." Georgie corrected without looking up.

"_REALLY _good at shooting. I could help. I won't be noisy and I'll do what I'm told I _promise_."

"One." Georgie sat up straight and turned from her bow to look Sophie in the face. "We're not going hunting today. We're checking rabbit snares and then scouting out the house that Glenn and Maggie found. Two. Even though there are no walkers roaming about, you could still tread on one. I can't take the stress of worrying about that happening. And three. You're not coming Sophie."

"Huntin's hard enough without a snot nosed brat taggin along anyways," Daryl spoke in agreement. "Can't ya jus go play with Carl or sommin?" Sophie looked at him. He wasn't looking at her, so she stuck her tongue out at him. She hated Daryl. For the past few days, he'd dragged Georgie off hunting and scoping with him through the snow. Most of the adults had been away from camp finding out more about the surrounding area, every since it had been discovered that the walkers were currently frozen. And when she wasn't hunting, she was skinning and cutting up the animals they brought back, like she had spent the WHOLE morning doing. Georgie had managed to give her a few shooting lessons, but she hadn't spent nearly as much time with her as she use to, because she spent it all with stupid dumb Daryl. Dumb Daryl. She liked calling him that, although she didn't say it to his face. Instead, her eyes welled up with babyish tears.

"I don't want to play with Carl, playing's for babies. I want to learn to do things like you. You promised you'd teach me things and you don't." Embarrassed, she walked off, wishing she knew the grown up thing to say.

She had barely walked ten paces, when she felt two hands around her waist, and her body was lifted off the floor.

"FINE, you win short stuff. T-Dog can go scoping and you and me can learn gigging from Miao. I'm fed up of walking through snow anyway. And once we catch enough fish, I'll teach you how to hit a moving target." Georgie grinned wickedly. "Maybe we can get Glenn to run around with a bunny tail." Sophie squealed with glee and wrapped her arms around Georgie's neck.

"Can Mom come watch too?"

"I think she's already down by the lake with Miao. You walking, or piggy backing?"

"Piggy back!" Sophie wiggled her body around until she was securely on Georgie's back. Turning her head slightly, she saw Dumb Daryl looking at them, no expression on his face. In her head, she imagined sticking her tongue out at him again, but she wasn't quite that brave. Not yet.

When they got down to the lake, Sophie's mom was indeed already there, with Miao. Both had spears in their hands, and were looking intently into a hole in the ice. Georgie placed Sophie on the ground, and placed her finger to her lips, so Sophie knew not to disturb the pair of them. Already, a few fish lay on the ice next to the two women. Sophie's mum made a quick stabbing movement into the water and groaned in frustration. Miao patted her arm encouragingly.

"That was close. Remember to make allowances for the refraction. You got one before, so just take your time." Sophie's mum nodded and was about to take her stance again, when she looked up. Seeing Sophie and Georgie, she smiled. Sophie ran to her, followed by Georgie.

"I thought you were going to check out that house with Daryl?" Sophie's mum cuddled her with one arm, and spoke over her head to Georgie. Georgie shrugged.

"I'm sick of walking. I thought I'd chill out with the little one." She came next to the hole, and squatted down. "How does this work then?"

The afternoon went quickly. Gigging was harder than shooting a bow and arrow. The water played tricks on Sophie, making her think fish were closer than they were and she kept missing them. She didn't even get one. But neither did Georgie, which made her feel better. Her mom was good though, catching a few here and there. No one was as good as Miao though. Eventually, Georgie gave up, sitting on the snow with Sophie, as they decided how best to create an igloo.

They were just deliberating over how best to construct the walls, when Miao stood up and pointed at something over by the trees.

"T-Dog and Daryl are back!" She made a movement to go towards them, and then stopped, looking behind for Carol. Georgie grinned at Sophie and stood up too. Sophie slumped. They hadn't even finished the igloo and now that Dumb Daryl was back, Georgie was done. It wasn't fair. As Georgie, Miao and her Mom walked over to the two men, Sophie sighed and then stood up. Just because Georgie wasn't going to help her, didn't mean she couldn't finish the igloo herself. She looked around. The snow seemed to lay thickest on the lake, so that was where she decided to go. The ice had been thick enough to support four people on the edge, so it was probably be ok in the middle. Glancing back at the five adults, she brushed the snow off her knees and walked out on the lake.

It was hard walking on the ice; her feet kept slipping and sliding everywhere. She giggled-she felt like Bambi must have when he went on ice for the first time. She decided to go to the middle, and push the snow out from there. She was vaguely aware of someone shouting her from the side of the lake, but she ignored them, intent on getting the best snow.

It wasn't until she heard the crack, that she stopped. Fear flooded through her and she was unable to move. Maybe she had imagined it. She slowly turned to face the shore, where all the adults had gathered at the edge of the lake. T-Dog was holding her mom from running out onto the ice. Miao had grabbed his arm in horror. Georgie and Daryl were both making wild waving movements with their arms, motioning towards the ground. Sophie was too scared to think what they could mean. She could now clearly hear the rumbling of the ice beneath her feet. She looked down and up at Georgie again. This time, Georgie made a motion with her hand.

_Look at me. _

She slowly got down onto her hands and knees. Sophie copied her, trembling. Georgie gave her a thumbs up. She got onto her belly. Sophie mirrored her. Georgie motioned to her to crawl. Sophie started to edge towards the lake edge, which seemed miles away. Georgie got up to her knees and moved onto the ice, where they had just been gigging, ready to pull Sophie off.

Without warning, another crack, louder this time ripped through the air. Sophie's sense deserted her, and she scrambled to her feet and ran towards Georgie.

She didn't even manage two steps, before the ice cracked, and she fell through.


	10. Frozen

**Georgie.**

Georgie didn't think, didn't even give herself time to. When Sophie disappeared through the ice, she instinctively sprang up from her knees and ran towards the gaping hole in the ice. She baseball slide to the edge and threw her hands into the icy water, feeling for the girls arms. To her horror, she could feel the current was strong, and for a horrible moment, she was certain that Sophie had been swept away. Then, her hand brushed against material and she grabbed onto it. Dragging it to the surface, she saw with body numbing relief, that it was a very bedraggled, coughing, spluttering Sophie. She pulled her to the ice and turned to Daryl and T-Dog, who were skidding over the ice towards her.

"I've got her!" She heard Carol scream in relief. "She conscious, she's ok, I got her! It's going to be ok."

But, in her eagerness to get to Sophie, she had forgotten how weak the ice was. It could barely hold her weight, and the added weight of Sophie was too much for it. The ice crumbled, and Georgie fell head first into the water, Sophie close behind.

The cold was the first thing to hit her, like knives stabbing her all over her body. It seemed to penetrate through her skin, freezing her insides, her lungs, heart, everything. Disorientated, she tried to move her body up towards the hole, but in horror, she realised that the current was sweeping her away from the hole and air. She desperately kicked towards it, feeling the cold sap her strength at every stroke. She broke the surface, gasping for breath, and heard someone yelling. She turned her body and saw T-Dog and Daryl reaching to her. She reached her hand out to them, and for a moment, she felt T-Dogs finger tips brush hers. But lack of real food had left her weak to begin it, and the cold was taking over her senses. Her legs seemed to stop working and the current dragged her under again.

This time, she didn't fight against the current. Even as the cold dulled her senses, she had one last thought. The ice didn't cover the lake where the river flowed outwards. If she could just make it there, she might stand a chance. She tried to move fast, to make her air last. Her lungs were straining, her head was swirling, but she kept kicking.

But the break was too far, and she hadn't taken a big enough gulp of air. She couldn't hold it much longer and she gasped for air. Water flooded her lungs, ice cold water, and the world went black.


	11. Truths

**Carol**

Pure relief flooded through Carol's veins as she clutched a shivering Sophie to her. She felt almost hysterical as she continually patted Sophie over, checking that she was ok. She looked up to thank Georgie-how could she ever thank Georgie, and realised in horror that she wasn't there. Daryl and T-Dog were racing towards the river, where the ice thinned out, and it suddenly hit her what must have happened. She felt sick to her stomach. She clutched Sophie to her, closed her eyes and started to pray.

"Please God, let her be ok. Please let her be ok." Next to her, Miao gave a cry.

"Oh God. They have her, they pulled her out." Carol opened her eyes and looked up. T-Dog and Daryl were pulling a sodden lump out of the water. It was Georgie and she wasn't moving. T-Dog scooped her up in his arms and ran to the women, Daryl close behind him.

"She's not moving, she's not breathing!" T-Dog lay Georgie down on the floor, and Carol saw the full extent of Georgie's condition. Her skin was pale, almost pale enough to see the veins in her arms, and already her lips and hands were turning blue. Most worryingly, her eyes were closed, and her chest wasn't moving.

"Do something!' Daryl was pacing, an expression on his face Carol had never seen-at least not on his face. He looked panicked, scared. He turned to T-Dog, who was shaking Georgie. "Why ain't she wakin up? Do something, goddammit, she's gonna die."

Carol handed Sophie to Miao and pushed T-Dog aside. Placing her hands on Georgie's chest, she started to press down hard. She wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but it was all she could think to do. An agonising minute passed, silent except for Daryl's cursing and Sophie's gulps. And then, Georgie coughed. Water spilled out of her mouth and her eyes opened wide as if she had been surprised. She rolled onto her side, and continued to cough up murky lake water. She tried to pull herself to her hands, and knees, but Carol stopped her. Almost immediately, she started to shiver violently. After a moment of shock, T-Dog seemed to pull himself together.

"Daryl, take Georgie and Sophie to that house. There were blankets there, it was inside, you may be able to start a fire. I'll collect the rest of the group." He pulled off his parker jacket and wrapped it carefully around Sophie. He looked at Carol. "You go with Sophie, she needs her mother." Carol didn't need to be told twice, not even once. She scooped her daughter up in her arms and looked to Daryl. Daryl was pulling Georgie to her feet, but even Carol could see that Georgie wasn't able to stand. The cold seemed to have robbed her of her senses, she looked confused and disorientated. Daryl pulled the long sleeved shirt off that Carol had heard T-Dog and Georgie spend a good fifteen minutes nagging him to wear and wrapped it roughly around Georgie. He swung his crossbow on his back, and lifted her into his arms. Carol saw with alarm, that although Georgie attempted to hold onto his neck, she was having difficulty moving her fingers. She glanced at Sophie, worried that she was in a similar state. However, Sophie hadn't been in the water that long, and she had been wrapped in T-Dog, Miao and Carols own tops for a while.

"C'mon. Get movin'." Daryl's voice snapped out, but Carol thought she could detect a hint of fear in it too. As she tried to match her strides to his, she heard him muttering to Georgie. "Don't ya go fallin' asleep now. Stay awake. Say somethin' dammit. What happened to not a Disney film? Say somthin'!" Georgie said nothing. As Carol caught up to the pair, she saw with horror that she was struggling to stay conscious. Carol didn't know a lot about medicine, but she knew that you shouldn't let someone suffering hypothermia fall asleep. She could see Daryl's face clearer now, and could clearly see him working to keep his usual indifferent mask on. But it wasn't working.

They traipsed through the snow for an hour. Carol kept rubbing her daughter, and talking to her, doing her best to keep her awake. Sophie seemed ok, just complained about being wet. Georgie was slipping in and out of unconsciousness, and Carol was getting more and more concerned about her. She didn't know where Daryl was taking them, and was beginning to wonder if T-Dog had made the right choice. Surely taking Georgie back to camp would have been better-it was only ten minutes away, and they could have wrapped her up in all the spare blankets. She was just about to mention this to Daryl, when the trees cleared and she saw where they had been headed.

If she hadn't been so worried about Georgie, she would have been impressed by the sheer beauty of it. The building was made of wood and stone, and was surrounded by trees. A large sign on the roof announced that she was looking at the "Wives and Daughters Hide Out". It was at least four stories high, and each story had multiple windows and balconies. Before Carol could take in any more, Daryl kicked the front door, breaking it open.

"Get in." Carol didn't need to be told twice. She scurried in the front door, and Daryl followed.

Carol had a brief impression what she imagined was meant to be rustic charm as she entered the reception area. Daryl moved past her and up some impressive wooden stairs, seeming to know where he was headed. Carol ran up the stairs behind him, and followed him into the first room next to the stairs.

The room, actually comprised of two rooms-a living area, and a bedroom. Compared to the rushed glimpses of the cabin that Carol had seen, the room was very modern. A huge L shaped couch took up most of the room, facing a wide screen TV. Underneath the TV, a large glass table sat, covered in newspapers and magazines. With a jolt, Carol realised that a pair of shoes were sat next to the door. She placed Sophie on the couch and raced to close it. Once it was securely shut, she moved to the couch and crouched down in front of Sophie.

"You ok baby?" How are your feet and hands?" Sophie sniffed woefully.

"I'm ok. I'm sorry Mom." Carol stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. She took her daughters hands in hers and examined them. Her hands were cold, but they were a normal colour. She looked at her face and sighed in relief. She would be fine.

"It's ok. Listen. I need to go help Daryl with Georgie. I want you to stay here. If you hear anything in the hall, you come into the bedroom. Don't scream, just come in fast as you can. Ok? When I've helped Georgie, we'll get you dry." She hugged Sophie again, and then walked into the bedroom.

The room was even bigger than the living area. Another large couch stood at the far end of the room, which was dominated by two luxurious looking single beds. On the one closest to the door, Daryl was kneeling in front of Georgie, who was still pale and unresponsive and in her soaking clothes. Carol took a deep breath and decided to take charge.

"You need to get her out of those wet clothes." Daryl's head turned to her. She walked towards a large wardrobe, near another door, and flung the doors open. It was still stocked with clothes. Like a bolt from the blue, Carol realised that the hotel had been abandoned in the middle of the season. She glanced nervously at the door to the room, and then returned her mind to the task at hand. Looking at the top of the wardrobe, she spotted the customary spare blanket. Pulling it down, she turned back to Daryl. He hadn't made a move towards Georgie, but was still looking at her blankly. She moved to the door that she presumed lead to the bathroom and opened it. Again, the room was sleek and modern, and fully stocked. She grabbed the large bath towels hanging on the railing, which were of course somehow still thick and fluffy. She moved to Georgie and pulled off Daryl's now soaked shirt.

"Take them off her. We can wrap her up in dry warm blankets for now." She started to peel off Georgie's jacket, Georgie seemed barely aware of what was happening, and made no real move to help her. She turned to Daryl. "Give me a hand please?" Daryl started.

"No way. Georgie'd kill me if she though I'd bin undressin' her. I ain't stupid." He moved away, closer to the door. Carol felt frustration boil up inside her.

"We either undress her, and risk her anger later, or she dies from shock, and you have to shot her in the head. What would you prefer?" She was surprised at her outspokenness, and half expected the customary slap in the face she would have gotten from Ed, but instead Daryl blinked, and then moved towards the bed. Gingerly, he lifted Georgie's arms, and held them there, looking anywhere but directly at Georgie's body. As Carol peeled off her tops, boots and trousers, she noticed with alarm how thin Georgie was. She knew Georgie hadn't been eating as much since they had escaped the complex, but she hadn't realised to what extent. She could almost count everyone of her ribs, and the tattoos on her stomach were emphasised by the angle of her hip bones. Without her many layers, she looked much, much younger, and fragile.

When they got to her underwear, Carol decided for both Daryl and Georgie's sake to leave it on She proceeded to wrap her firmly all but one of the bath towels, and the blanket from the cupboard. To her relief, colour was seeping back into Georgie's toes and she seemed to be getting more alert-or at least alert enough to just be led, rather than carried into bed. Carol felt a sudden motherly instinct towards her as she tucked her in. Daryl hovered around the door glancing at the entrance to the room and to Georgie. Carol turned and attempted to smile at him.

"Can you sit with her, while I sort out Sophie? I think she needs to sleep too." Daryl grunted and moved towards the bed. He perched on the end of the bed, elbows on knees and stared down at his hands. Carol left him there and went to get Sophie. She had fallen asleep on the sofa, thumb in mouth. Carol stopped and watched her for a while. For all that Sophie was trying to grow up, to be brave and fight, she too looked even younger than ever. Carol gently sat her up and as carefully as possible removed her wet clothes and wrapped her up in the bath towel. She carried her into the room and put her into the other bed. Sophie stirred, but didn't wake. Carol kissed her head, and moved onto the couch. Daryl didn't move.

"They'll both be ok." Carol spoke more to break the silence then to reassure Daryl. Daryl grunted in response. A long silence passed, Carol sat on the sofa, Daryl on the end of Georgie's bed, continually glancing at the door, then back at Georgie. He got up and started pacing the room, glancing at both Georgie and Sophie. Carol bit the inside of her mouth. She recognised this mood. She had seen this mood with Ed-the build up. Right before the explosion and the fists. She watched him warily. She didn't think Daryl would hit her, but she didn't want to take any chances. Finally he turned and moved towards hers, indifference replaced with anger.

"This is your goddam fault. Yours and that bratty kid of yours. Georgie shoulda bin scouting with me, not keeping your stupid kid entertained." His face was right in front of Carols now, and he was practically snarling in her face. "Why th hell didn't ya go an get her outta the ice? I know why. It's 'cause ya weak. Ya were too weak to save ya kid, jus like ya were too weak to leave ya pathetic excuse of a husband. Ev'ry knows he was beatin' on you, an you jus let him do it. Ya never fought back. I bet if he'd hit ya kid, you'd have let it happen. And what's your excuse-ya loved him?" He stood up, a look of disgust on his face as he looked down at her. "My aunt, she had a man like Ed. But she got away. Ya stayed. No wonder Sophie follows Georgie ev'rywhere. She needs someone ta look up to." He turned away from her, shaking his head.

Carol sat, stunned on the sofa. It wasn't like she hadn't thought everything Daryl had said to her. It was just that she had never heard it said out loud before. And he was right. All the times she could have left and didn't. All the times she had been on the brink of walking out the door with Sophie and hadn't. And it was because she loved him. Was that so bad? She had put up with a lot from him, because she loved him. She wasn't the first person to do that, to love someone who didn't deserve their love. In fact...

"You can't talk. Look at Merle." She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. Why the hell had she said that? That was precisely the wrong thing to say if she wanted to keep Daryl calm. He turned at looked at her. Unlike Ed, whose face had always been unreadable before he exploded, there was anger written all over Daryl's face.

"Ya wanna say that again." Carol swallowed. She didn't know where her boldness was coming from, but she'd come this far without a punch.

"You and Merle." Carol kept her eyes down, whilst the words kept tumbling out, so fast she couldn't stop them. "You talk, you talk about me and Ed. At least I didn't deny what was happening. You and Merle...you worked for him. You did all the hunting. You kept him under control, you were always making sure he wasn't harassing Andrea and Amy, or taking a swing at T-Dog. When...when he was left in Atlanta, when he attacked T-Dog, everyone knows it's because you weren't there to stop him. And...and what did he do for you? Nothing. He never lifted a finger. He brought walkers to the camp. He didn't know you weren't there, you could have died."

"Naw." Daryl had started to pace again, walking back and forth agitatedly. He walked back to Carol, pointing his finger at her. "Naw, you people brought that on yourself. Merle knew I'd be able ta handle it. He knew. He knew I could cope with a couple a brain dead geeks."

"Like Tyrese and Carlos could?" Carol had no idea where she was finding the courage for all this, but now she had started, she couldn't stop. "They'd been trained to fight walkers, they lived to fight walkers, and they didn't come out of the complex. Everyone knows if you get surrounded, you're dead. Even Merle had to know that. And he still led walkers to the camp, where you were."

Daryl's face was contorted, as if he was in pain. Carol watched him, waiting for a response. When it didn't come, she pressed on.

"My point is, you can get on that high horse all you want. But we're the same. We both cared about someone who wasn't worth the air they breathed. Because we thought we had to. Because Ed was my husband and the father of my child. Merle was your brother. But we both knew..."

Before she could finish the sentence, Daryl had stormed out of the bedroom, and into the living, all but slamming the door behind him. Carol's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever stood up to anyone like that. Not verbally. It must have been at least fifteen years ago, when she had just graduated high school. Before she met Ed. Carol looked across at Sophie. Slowly, she walked over to her bed, and burrowed under the covers, watching her daughter sleep.

What had happened to that girl? That girl who had laughed at the cheerleaders, who had had ideas and dreams, who wanted to go places and meet people? Had she really changed since she met Ed? She couldn't even remember what she had been like before. She kissed Sophie on the forehead and closed her eyes. Before she drifted off to sleep, she thought over one thing Daryl had said. She needed to show Sophie that she could be strong too. That Georgie wasn't the only role model she had.


	12. Reunited

**Georgie**

Georgie sat bolt up in bed, disorientated. Where the hell was she? The last thing she remembered clearly was being under the ice, dying. After that, she had snap shot images, snippets of film almost, and she couldn't figure out what was real and what was confused dreaming. She remembered being cold. She remembered being carried by someone who had been talking about Disney for some reason. She remembered Daryl putting her on the bed and rubbing her hands. She frowned, and rubbed her face, then started as she registered her bare arms. When the hell had her clothes come off? She looked around the room and saw them neatly hung over a radiator. Couldn't have been Daryl then. She saw Carol and Sophie curled up in a bed next to her. She smiled in relief. At least Sophie was safe. She looked around the room, but didn't see Daryl anywhere. Had she hallucinated him then? But surely Carol couldn't have gotten her here by herself? She wiggled out of the wraps of blankets and towels that she had somehow gotten wrapped up in. She pulled the thinner blanket around herself and stood up, scanning the room. She saw two doors. Moving towards the nearest one, she put her ear to the wood and listened. No noise. She opened it cautiously, and saw a very swish, very modern bathroom.

"Not bad," she murmured. "Not bad at all." She walked into the room, her feet making a soft padding noise on the white tiled floor, trailing a finger along the sink basin. As she did so, she noticed a large tube of tooth paste, a toothbrush, soap and a pair of tweezers. She picked up the tweezers and glanced into the large mirror above the sink. She looked a mess. Her cheeks were hollow and there were dark circles under her eyes. She bared her teeth, and sighed as she saw her chipped canine tooth. And her eyebrows looked like something from Sesame street. God, why did women in movies always look so perfect? Even when they supposedly been on the run for weeks and weeks. She picked up the tweezers and looked back into the bedroom. She didn't want to wake up Sophie and Carol, and she didn't know where Daryl was, if he was with them. Why not? She perched herself on the edge of the sink and made herself comfortable.

Plucking her eyebrows was strangely soothing. Georgie hadn't realised how much she missed what had been normal. Just sitting and not thinking about anything of importance, just her vanity. God it felt so strange and familiar at the same time. When she finally finished, she regarded her reflection. She didn't really look any different, but she felt slightly better about herself. She put the tweezers down, and opened the cabinet behind the mirror. Not much there, but a razor, some shaving cream and some bottles of pills. She glanced down at her legs. Well, she'd already done her eyebrows. What was a little vanity now and then.

Legs smooth, and eyebrows groomed, Georgie walked back into the bedroom. Sophie and Carol still hadn't woken up. For a moment, she worried that they had maybe died in their sleep, but the Carol sighed, and cuddled Sophie closer to her. Georgie smiled, and moved to the other door. Again, placing her ear to it, she heard nothing. Pushing the door open, she walked into the living area, where Daryl was sprawled over the couch. She pulled her blanket tighter around her, and moved around to his head. He was also asleep, looking almost peaceful. She touched his arm gently. He was ice cold.

"Bloody hell Daryl," she muttered to herself. She padded back to her bed, and pulled the thicker duvet off it, dragging it to the couch. She placed it over him as gently as she could, and pulled it so it covered him properly. She looked at him for a moment, but he didn't stir.

By now Georgie had some idea of where she might be. This must be the house that Glenn and Maggie had found. She remembered now. Daryl and she had been going to check it out, but then she had stayed with Sophie. So, Daryl must have brought them here after falling through the ice. And that must mean that it was safe-after all why else would he have brought them here. So, there was no harm in exploring. Except...

She looked down at herself, dressed in her underwear. Perhaps she should put her clothes on. The movies may have been wrong about looking good in crisis situations, but why tempt fate? Women who wondered around in their underwear were the first to go. She went back to the radiator, but it was cold and her clothes were still damp. She frowned and looked around. Her eyes fell on a chest of drawers at the foot of the bed she had been in. She opened the top drawer and started to rifle through the clothes. The person who had been in the room, may have once been around Georgie's size, but she had lost so much weight, that most of the clothes hung off her. Plus, they had obviously been on a summer holiday, as she couldn't find a pair of jeans or trousers anywhere. Finally, she settled on a baggy t-shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts. Not much coverage, but better than looking like a sick play bunny. Her boots were still wet, so she decided to risk going barefoot. She'd be fine. She tip toed past Daryl and peered through the peephole in the door. The corridor looked clear, so she turned the handle and carefully opened the door.

She slipped out into the corridor and looked around. Spotting the stairs, she made her way down them into a spacious reception area. She wrinkled her nose. It was a lot of wood, and stone, with random floral cushions thrown in places. She wiggled her toes, enjoying the feel of thick carpet between her toes, and looked around for something that might be the reception desk. It was to her left, an ugly stone creation, with a thick wooden desk top. It was covered in leaflets, and she could see keys and a telephone behind it. She walked over and shuffled through the leaflets, seeing if she could find anything out about the area they were in. She found a booklet that looked promising, titled "Wives and Daughters Hide Out." She hoisted herself up on the counter and started to study the map on the back. It looked vaguely like the area that they had been in, with a large lake and some cabins around the edge. The leaflet claimed that from the cabin area around the lake, to the hotel, if you followed the road, it would take two hours to reach the hotel. She glanced up at the snow outside. Even though it didn't look like it had snowed the previous night, it was still thick. It would probably take the camp a lot longer than that. She return to the booklet and started to read through it.

The sound of someone slowly coming down the stairs made her jerk her head up, to see Carol coming down the stairs. She swung herself around on the counter and watched her descend the stairs, looking for some reason apprehensive.

"There you are. I was worried." She walked up the counter and stood in front of her. "You should have woken me or Daryl up." Georgie shrugged.

"All three of you were out for the count. I didn't want to disturb you." She slid off the counter, not quite meeting Carol's eye. It was kind of true. She hadn't wanted to wake the three up. They were sleeping indoors, on vaguely comfortable furniture in the first time in God knows how long. But, she also didn't want to have to talk about how she was feeling, if she was coping with yet another near death experience, if she was crazy yet. Because that was all she had had since the formation of the committee and her refusal to take on a leading role within the camp. Like her being a leader would solve all the camps problems. Surely everyone had been through the same things as she had, or worse. But apparently if she didn't cry, or make a big deal about it, she was the one who wasn't coping. And all everyone wanted to do was make her cry, or make her talk about it and she just didn't want to. She blamed Ben and his psycho babble. However, Carol seemed to buy it and nodded.

"What should we do now?" As she said those words, Carol's stomach growled loudly. Georgie smiled.

"I think the restaurant is over there. Maybe there's some tinned food we raid." Carol looked uncomfortable. "It'll be ok. T-Dog wouldn't have told Daryl to bring us here if it wasn't totally safe." Carol still didn't look convinced, but her rumbling stomach seemed to have reminded Georgie how hungry she was, and she moved across the reception area through the doors marked restaurant.

In contrast to the reception, the restaurant was incredibly elegant. White linen table cloths covered each table, embroidered with small roses and violets around the edges. Crystal decanters and glasses decorated the tables, as well as silver cutlery and cream napkins. The carpet here was red, but just as thick. But even here, there were hints of what had happened. A large red stain on a table, a knocked over glass. Plates covered in mould, napkins thrown to the floor. Georgie wondered if the hotel had been abandoned due to a zombie attack, or something less dangerous. She noticed two large meal doors that she assumed led to the kitchen and made her way towards them, Carol close behind.

The kitchen was bigger than any Georgie had seen, on TV or real life. The smell was awful; it was obvious that any fresh food available had rotted away long ago. Carol wrinkled her nose and placed her hand over her face. Georgie moved away from the general area that the smell seemed to be coming from, and started to look through the cupboards. Carol followed suit, pulling cans out and placing them on the side. They were huge commercial size tins, mainly of soup and chilli.

"Gee," Carol commented. "For a hotel this fancy, they didn't seem to cook much. Good for us though." She picked up a tin that was about twice the size of her head. "Mushroom soup sound ok to you?"

Georgie was just about to answer, when the kitchen door banged. Her reflexes kicked into action, and she grabbed the nearest thing that might qualify as a weapon: a large butchers knife. Whirling around to the kitchen door, she stuck the knife out, almost stabbing Daryl in the face.

"What the hell ya doin' woman? What the hell. The pair of you can't just wonder off an leave me with the brat, what the hell..." He smacked the knife out of his face and glared at Georgie. Georgie put the knife back on the table, overcome with a sudden urge to giggle. She gave Carol a side glance, to see if she was finding this as funny, and was surprised-and slightly impressed-to see her also placing down a slightly smaller knife. She wondered how effective she would have been with it. Sophie was a little way behind Daryl, and when she saw her mother, she ran around him to her. She was back in the clothes she had been wearing when she had fallen through the ice. Georgie hoped they were at least dry. Turning her back on Daryl she resumed her conversation with Carol.

"Yeah mushroom soup sounds nice. We'll have to have it cold though. Yum." Daryl snorted and walked past the two of them to the stove. He turned a few knobs and pressed the clicker. Flames spurted out of one of the rings. Georgie and Carol stared. "How did you know that the gas would work?"

Daryl picked up one of the knives and started to idly play with it. "In Atlanta, we saw a gas cooker workin." Georgie waited for a further explanation, but Daryl didn't offer one. She shrugged and grabbed a clean-ish pot as Carol rummaged in a drawer looking for a can opener. She turned around to Daryl and Georgie.

"You two can wait in the restaurant and I'll bring it out to you two. Sophie and I have got it covered." Daryl wondered out of the kitchen and Georgie followed. Daryl sat himself at the nearest clean table, reached over and shook the decanter. Georgie sat herself opposite him. He looked at her, and placed it down on the table.

"Fuckin' empty." He leant back and looked over his shoulder. Georgie put her elbows on the table and looked at Daryl.

"Thank you." He looked back at her. "Thank you for carrying me here. And saving my life. And er..." here she smiled slightly, "thank you for trying to warm my hands." Daryl snorted.

"Dumb thing to do. Ya whole body frozen an all I can do is rub ya hands." He almost looked embarrassed.

"Hey. My hands are important. How else am I supposed to shoot arrows? And skin rabbits? And sock you in the face?"

"I'd like ta see you try. You're skinnier than a bean pole now. Ya should eat more. Ya got no muscle, no power."

"More than you." Daryl snorted and shook his head. Georgie smiled. She liked it when it was just her and Daryl, or her Daryl and T-Dog. Daryl was almost likeable. Like now. This conversation was almost the sort two friends would have, easy and effortless. Plus, unlike the rest of the campers, he had never tried to make her talk over her emotions or discuss what had happened to her. That was the best part about men like Daryl. They never wanted to talk about tricky things like emotions. She leaned forward on her elbows and playfully narrowed her eyes at Daryl, waiting for his reply. But when he replied, his tone was less even.

"Merle used a gas stove to cauterise his hand." Georgie sat up right and looked at him. "When we went back to find him. He heated an iron and cauterised the stump. That's how I knew..." He looked over his shoulder again, away from her. Georgie bit her lip. She had no idea how to respond. She wanted to go over and put her arm around his shoulder, or hold his hand. That's what she would do with anyone else, but Daryl would most likely just shrug it off. She felt as useless as she had done in the complex, when Daryl had told her what had happened to his family. Before she could think of how best to respond to this news, a noise from the reception made them both leap up. She glanced at Daryl, who was staring at the reception area.

"I thought it was safe here," she whispered.

"It is." Daryl was still focused on the reception area. "It ain't walkers. Listen."

Georgie moved around the table listening intently. He was right. It was defiantly footsteps, but they weren't shuffling and clumsy like walkers steps. She looked at Daryl and made a move towards the reception area.

"Woman! What the hell, ya can't just..." She didn't hear what she couldn't do, before she had walked into the reception.

"Georgie." Adele and T-Dog rushed forward and enveloped her in huge hugs. Georgie caught a glimpse of Andrea and Dale holding guns, looking relieved; Katie less so. Daryl moved out of the restaurant, and nodded at T-Dog. Georgie untangled herself from Adele and Georgie and turned to Daryl.

"Tell Carol that she'll need to find a few more tins of soup."


	13. Safe?

**Carol**

Seating at the largest table in the dining room, Carol found herself watching Georgie almost as much as she watched Sophie. The clothes she had found for herself from somewhere hung off her, and she looked scarily frail. But then, she supposed that most of them did. They had been struggling even before the snow, and although everyone who could hunt had done their best, the food had been scarce. Even now, Adele was eating slowly, as if she couldn't believe that the supplies would last.

"This is a great place you've found." Rick broke the silence, glancing from T**-**Dog to Daryl. "Carol said there are enough cans of food to keep us going til the snow melts at least. And when it does, I think we should head further South. Somewhere where the cold won't kill off us."

"I disagree." Andrea spoke across from Rick. "We all saw that walker. Whilst it's cold and snowing, they're frozen. We don't have to worry about them sneaking up on us. When the snow melts, we can get rid of them with ease. We have food here and it wouldn't be as hard as the complex to defend. I think we should stay here until spring." A few other members of the group nodded and seemed to agree. Rick took another mouthful of soup.

"Why don't we spend a few days here, see how we feel about the area. Then, we can take a vote on it. How does that sound." General noises of agreement arose from the table. "Well if we're all agreed, I suggest we start looking at rooms." He wrapped his arm around Carl and hugged him tight. "You excited? A real bed. Not like at the complex. A REAL bed." Carol took a deep breath and decided to share an idea she had been sitting on since Daryl had turned on the gas cooker.

"And hot baths." A few heads turned to her. "The water works, but I don't think the hot water does. But the gas cookers in the kitchen do. We could take turns boiling pots of water and emptying them into the bath. That's if we can't get the hot taps to work."

"Great idea." Maggie spoke almost immediately. "Shotgun first bath." 

"Hey!" Katie's voice rang out in protest. Everyone laughed. Carol noticed Katie's arm wrapped around Daryl's which was making it hard for the man to eat his soup. She occasionally said something to him, which he either ignored or gave a short grunt in response to. She frowned. Katie was beginning to look desperate and clingy, and although she didn't condone Daryl's actions, she wondered when Katie was going to cut her losses and have some self respect. She shook her head. Who was she to talk about self respect, the woman who had let her husband beat her for their entire marriage? She looked away from the couple and tuned back into the conversation around the table. Most people seemed to have decided on their roommates and she was surprised to see that most people had somewhere along the line turned into part of a couple. Andrea and Dale she wasn't surprised about: most people had figured their low key relationship out by now. The same with Adele and Ben, although they were somewhat less low key. But Maggie and Glenn? Now there was a surprise. She turned to Georgie, who was leaned back in her seat, grinning at Sophie and patting her stomach.

"Would you like to room up with us Georgie?" Georgie turned from Sophie to Carol. "I'd feel a lot better if you were bunking with us."

"Course I would." There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her voice. "It'll be nice to share with you guys. Like a family vibe."

Later that night, Carol and Georgie were curled up on the sofa chatting in low voices. Sophie was in the other room, tucked up in bed. The two crossbows, Georgie's and Sophie's were high on a shelf in the living room, away from Sophie. As well as the crossbow, a range of vicious looking knives were hidden away in drawers. Carol felt both safer for having them and Georgie there, but couldn't help worrying about Sophie wanting to practise with knives as well as the bow and arrow. As well as these items, both the women's clothes had been brought up, and with the use of the hot water from the kitchen, Carol had had a go at cleaning them properly. Currently, both women were dressed in clothes salvaged from the wardrobe. Carol couldn't believe how nice it felt to be in clean clothes, sat on a sofa, having a gossip with a friend. It felt so, normal.

Both the women were starting to wind down, ready to turn into bed themselves, when a creaking from upstairs made them both start.

"What was that?" Carol's heart began to race furiously, and she instinctively looked towards the bedroom.

"I don't know." Georgie sat upright on the sofa, a look of concentration on her face. "Everyone's on this floor. No-one's up there." The pair of them sat still as rocks, waiting. Another creak came, again from almost directly above them. Georgie got off the couch, and retrieved her bow. Carol paused for a moment, and then opened a drawer, pulling out a large knife, with a viciously serrated blade.

"Put it back Carol." Georgie spoke without looking up. "You stay here with Sophie."

"I can back you up." Carol was surprised at how calm her voice sounded, but inside she was shaking with fear. She knew she wouldn't be as helpful as someone like Adele or T-Dog, but she had been trained in fighting at the complex, and she knew, or thought she knew, that she could cover Georgie's back. Ignoring Georgie's protests, she moved to the door. Georgie sighed, and opened it, revealing a dark, thankfully empty corridor. Carols eyes adjusted to the gloom quickly as they moved out, Georgie in front, Carol behind. Carol glanced back to the room and felt a lurch of guilt. She couldn't leave Sophie alone in there, it wasn't fair on her. She bit her lip: not wanting to go back and look like she was too scared to go with Georgie, but wanting to help.

Before she could make a decision; Georgie's hand shot out, motioning her to be silent and still. Carol felt the taste of bile in the back of her throat, and swallowed. Something was coming down the stairs, slowly and deliberately. She tightened her grip, trying to ignore the fact that she was dizzy, her heart was racing and she wanted to be sick. Georgie raised her bow and took careful aim. Now a shadow was visible on the wall. She opened her mouth to ask Georgie what the plan was, but no sound came out. She could only watch as whatever it was descended the stairs and came into view.


	14. Impossible

**Matthew**

Sitting in the hotel room, Matthew lay with his ear to the floor. He couldn't hear any sound from the rooms below, all the people must have gone to sleep. He sat up and looked at his little brother, who was perched on the sofa, looking anxious.

"Are we going now Matthew?" Matthew sat up and put his fingers to his lips. He answered in a whisper.

"Yeah. I think they're all asleep. Get your bag, let's go." He watched his brother scramble off the bed and pick up his backpack. Matthew had already packed a few tins in his own bag, leaving Harry, his junior by two years, to carry the clothes they had taken from the drawers. The floorboard creaked, and Harry looked at Matthew. Matthew motioned for him to carry on, and the boards creaked again. Harry grabbed Matthews hand as they crept out the door.

"Why are we leaving in the dark?" Harry whispered.

"I told you. Because they'll all be asleep."

"But won't those...those things get us?"

"No. They're all frozen now, remember. Once we get away from these people, we'll be ok again."

"Why do we need to run away."

"Why do I have to repeat everything twice. You're so stupid sometimes, you..." Matthew stopped. It had been about a year he figured since the dead had started to walk again. He had been thirteen and Harry had been eleven. They had always been close-a lot of people joked they were too much like friends to be brothers. Now, with their whole family gone, Matthew had not just been a brother, but a mother and father to Harry as well. He kept forgetting that Harry was young, and that he had to try to keep his temper with him. He took a deep breath and explained again.

"We don't know that they're good people. Remember. We thought those other people were good. But they...they weren't. So I don't want to take any more chances. We can only trust each other." Harry nodded solemnly and followed his brother out into the corridor.

The two boys crept towards the stairs. The light from the windows illuminated the top of them, making it easier for them to get their footing. Matthew made Harry stop for a moment so he could hear any movement from the first floor. Keeping Harry behind him, he started to slowly move down the stairs, concentrating on not making a sound. Turning, he whispered to his little brother.

"As soon as we get outside, we're going to run for the lake. But we..."

"Hello?" Matthew froze.

"Hello? We can hear you. Who are you?" Harry clutched at Matthew in panic. Matthew's mind went blank. His first instinct was to run up the stairs and back into their room, but he knew that they would just follow him there. Before he could think of an acceptable plan, a woman came up the stairs. In the gloom, he could see that she was quite thin with hair that came to her shoulders, but that was all. She stopped when she saw them. Matthew realised they were stood in the light coming from the moon through the window. He tried to will his legs to move back, but he couldn't. He felt like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"JESUS!" The woman's voice rang out loudly, she sounded like she was shouting. There was something strange about her voice, it sounded different to any other voice he had heard. She shouted down to the first floor. "It's KIDS." She sounded relieved, Matthew realised. Had she been scared too? She moved a step up towards them, moving into the light.

She was quite young-maybe mid twenties. Her hair was dark brown and so were her eyes. She was staring at the two boys in disbelief. In one arm, she held a crossbow, which she lowered onto the step, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on Matthew and Harry. As the bow hit the step, Matthew re gathered his wits.

"RUN! He threw Harry in front of him and watched him barge past the woman. He ran after his brother, but by that time she had recovered and was ready for him. She grabbed him around his waist, with surprising strength considering she was so slim. Down the stairs, he heard Harry scream, and a man's voice cursing.

"HARRY!" Matthew started wiggling, trying to free himself from the woman's grip.

" Stop it, you're scaring him." Another woman's voice from down stairs.

"HARRY! Let go of me you bitch! HARRY!" Matthew could hear doors slamming and more and more voices. The woman turned him around to face her. Her eyes were sharp, and she seemed to take in his whole face with one glance.

"Shhh, it's ok. No-one's going to hurt Harry. Just calm down, I'm sorry if I scared you. Calm down." Matthew stopped squirming, not because she told him to, but because he realised he wouldn't be able to escape from her grasp. Leaving her bow on the steps, she firmly led him down the stairs to the first floor.

As soon as they got to the first floor, a beam of light hit Matthew square in the face. He squinted and shielded his eyes, trying to see his brother.

"Lower the light T-Dog, it's just a kid." The light lowered, and Matthew saw a stocky black man with a bald head staring at him in disbelief, a flashlight in one hand, his other hand on Harry's shoulder. When he spoke, Matthew noticed he had a gap in his front teeth.

"How the hell did they...we checked EVERYWHERE." The black man looked stunned. He turned to people behind him, that Matthew hadn't noticed previously. Two blonde women, an older man, two Asian's, a man and a woman, and a little girl being held by another person with a shaved head-man or woman, Matthew couldn't tell in the half light. More doors were opening and more people seemed to be coming out of the rooms. The black man turned to Matthew again. "When did you get here?"

Matthew said nothing. His focus was now on Harry. He suddenly knew what his grandmother had meant when she had claimed her nerves were at breaking point. He didn't know what to do, how to get out of the hotel, how to get Harry away. He didn't know if these people were good, or if they would hurt them, or worse. The initial adrenaline he had felt was gone, and now all he felt was hunger from the two days they had been hiding from these people in their room. He felt dizzy and sick, and he didn't know if he could stand up for much longer.

"Hey kid. Didn't ya hear the man. Answer the question, how long ya been here." A voice came from the right of the black man. Matthew hadn't even noticed that Harry had a hand on each shoulder. Two figures moved forward into the dim light towards Matthew and their faces were briefly visible.

Matthew felt a roaring in his ears and his vision went blurry. He felt himself start to sway as his legs buckled underneath him. He was vaguely aware of Harry crying out and a pair of arms catching him before he hit the floor. A jumble of voices started to speak at once, none of which Matthew could make any more sense of then he could of what he had just seen. It didn't make sense, it couldn't be. He had seen them both shot and ripped apart in front of him, so how could they be standing here? Was he having a bad dream? Would he wake up tomorrow in the hotel bed and realise that the hotel was empty? He'd given up on waking up and having the world back to normal again. Before he blacked out, he tried to focus on the faces swimming above him. The woman on the stairs, the black man, a blonde lady, Harry and two others.

His father and his uncle


	15. Boarderline

"Matthew."

Matthew opened his eyes then winced. It was morning, and the light from the snow was making the whole room insanely bright. He lifted his head and blearily looked around the room. He was in a hotel room again. So it had been a dream. The people weren't here, he and Harry were safe. He rolled over to poke Harry awake. But the bed next to him was empty.

"Harry?" He looked around the room, wondering-hoping Harry was in the bathroom. Then it dawned on him-this wasn't the room he and Harry had been hiding out in. Panic seized him like a cold fist. He leapt out of bed, ready to run out the room and attack everyone in his way to find his brother. But then, voices from outside the window stopped him. He pulled the lace curtain aside and peered out.

To his relief, he saw Harry outside in the snow. Two other children were out there as well, the girl he had seen last night, and a boy, probably a few years younger than Harry. They seemed to be having a snowball fight. The woman with the brown hair from the night before was there too, laughing and throwing snowballs at the boys with the little girl. And there was a man, with his back to the window, watching them. Blonde, tanned, stocky looking. Matthews heart started to pound again. He leaned closer to the window, trying to get a better look at the man, willing him to turn around.

"You know it's not him." Matthew turned his head to the bed. His heart sunk. Sat on the end of the bed, looking no worse for wear was his old gym teacher, Mr Lister. He was looking at him with an irritating understanding look on his face. Matthew turned his attention back to the window.

"Shut up. You're not real. You're only in my head." He pressed his face up against the glass trying to see the man.

"If I'm not real, why are you talking to me?" Mr Lister leaned forward, his "I'm listening" expression on his face, just like he use to do in school. He stood up and walked over to the window and peered out of the window. "That's not your uncle Matthew. You saw your uncle die, just like you saw your father die." Matthew gritted his teeth and didn't respond. He'd been seeing, and speaking, to Mr Lister for a few weeks now, usually when he was worried or stressed. More often than not, he had full blown conversations with him, debating with him almost, about what to do, where to go. He didn't really mind him too much, but he knew if anyone else walked in, all they would see was him talking to himself. Matthew had seen the effects that the epidemic had had on people, but he couldn't imagine anyone being too understanding about a thirteen year old communicating with the dead.

The door to the hotel opened and Matthew jumped away from the window and onto the bed. He lay on the bed, pretending to be asleep. He heard two people entering the room talking in hushed voices. He picked out a male voice, soft and southern.

"Is he still asleep?" He felt someone sit down next to him on the bed.

"Out for the count. Poor thing. They're both so young to be out there alone. They must have been terrified." This voice was a woman, who must have been the one who sat on the bed, her voice was closest. He felt her hand on his forehead, first the palm and then the back of it. "He doesn't seem to have a fever. How on earth do you think they lasted this long?"

"I don't know. The little one is pretty reluctant to talk to anyone about anything. Won't answer any questions, apart from his name's Harry. Just wants to play with Sophie and Carl. Georgie, Adele and Daryl are watching them outside."

"Daryl?" The woman sounded surprised. "Did Georgie bully him into it?"

"No, would you believe. He went out because he wanted to." The man's voice sounded as amazed as the woman. A silence followed.

Matthew started to shift, making a big point of yawning and stretching. He opened his eyes, to face the person sat on his bed. It was the bald headed person from last night. Except they weren't completely bald, their hair was simply cut very short. It was a woman, with brown hair, flecks of grey scattered through it. Her eyes were a very unusual colour, grey with a hint of purple. She was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face, and was moving backwards, apparently removing her hand from his forehead. He looked around. Mr Lister was leant against the wall, watching another man who was standing in the corner of the room. Matthew sat up straight, looking at him. Even from the back of his head, he knew who this person was. Or who he wanted him to be.

Almost in slow motion, the man turned around to face him. He was average height, with kind blue eyes. His hair was brown, short and slightly curly. He was wearing a sheriffs uniform. He smiled at him and moved towards the bed. Everything about the man was familiar and comforting. But it wasn't his father.

Suddenly it was all too much. Even though he had known it was impossible, even though he had been strong since the disaster had started, even though he had kept himself and his brother alive for weeks, maybe months, Matthew was overcome by emotion. To his horror, he burst into noisy, uncontrollable tears, burying his face in his knees, holding his head in his hands. He felt arms wrap around him, and hands stroking his hair. He wanted to shake the person off, but he couldn't collect himself.

"Hey, hey." The man's voice, nothing like his fathers, broke through his sobs. "Come on now. It's ok, you're safe. No one's going to hurt you." Matthew drew in a deep shuddering breath and lifted his head, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands. Pulling himself together, he tried to decide what to say when they asked him where they had come from. He didn't want to give anything away, until he knew if these people would keep him and his brother safe. He looked up to face the man, who had moved to sit on the other side of the bed. Both he and the woman waited for Matthew to pull himself together before they spoke again.

"My name's Rick. This here is Carol. Could you maybe, tell us your name?" Matthew glanced at Mr Lister, who nodded slowly.

"Matthew." He sniffed woefully and looked down at his hands.

"Matthew. Matthew, is that other kid your brother? The small boy with the freckles?" Matthew studied his hands intently, again glancing at Mr Lister before answering.

"Yeah. Harry's my brother."

"Ok." Rick shifted himself on the bed. "Now Matthew, I know you must be scared, an something's might be hard to remember or talk about now, but we really need to know where you came from. Can you tell us if there's anyone else in the area? Anyone else in the hotel?" Matthew shook his head.

"I don't know. Me and Harry stayed in the room upstairs. When we heard those men in the hotel, we hid under the bed. We didn't think they'd come back."

"Under the bed." Carol, the woman spoke for the first time. "T-Dog and Daryl can't have looked that hard. There could be walkers in the whole building."

"All the doors are locked." Matthew spoke without thinking. Carol looked at him quizzically. "You have to get a master key from reception. We went into the rooms and got the candy and chips out of the mini bars. We only covered some of the first floor and the room on the second floor."

"Matthew. Do you still have that key? Because we're going to need to look in the other rooms." Matthew hesitated. If he gave up the key, the man might turn on him, lock him and Harry in a room somewhere.

"Don't give it up yet." Mr Lister spoke from across the room. Matthew half expected Rick and Carol to turn around, but Lister was still only visible and audible to himself alone. "You're right. Figure them out first." Matthew nodded.

"It's somewhere in my room."

"Ok." Rick looked up at Carol before pressing on. "Now. How did you and your brother end up out here all alone? Where are your parents?" Matthew froze. He could see Mr Lister shaking his head at him. He was right. Whether these people were good or not, they would never understand what he did. He couldn't tell them, and he needed to tell Harry not to tell either. Rick looked at the wall Lister was stood against and back at Matthew. For a split second, Matthew was convinced Lister had made himself visible to Rick, but then he saw the confused look on his face.

"What do you keep looking at that wall? Something bothering you?" Matthew opened and shut his mouth foolishly, searching for an adequate response.

"Can I see my brother now please?" Rick started to say something, but Carol stopped him.

"Of course you can. He's outside with the other children. And I bet you want some breakfast." She glanced up at Rick. "We can talk more later, when you're fed." She placed a motherly hand on Matthew's shoulder and stood up, motioning Rick to do the same. "There's some eggs downstairs. T-Dog made them. Powered, but he does make good eggs." She left the room, followed by Rick, who looked deep in thought. Matthew waited until he heard the lounge door to the room close before he got out of bed.

"That was close mate." Matthew glared at Mr Lister as he went into the bathroom to splash water on his face. "You need to play it safer than that. That Rick is a Sherriff. He'll get the truth out of you somehow. Don't let him ask you anymore questions, no matter how much he looks like your dad."

Matthew walked out of the room and glanced into the lounge to check that Rick and Carol weren't listening in on him before he answered. "Well maybe if you didn't hang around making me look crazy, they wouldn't be so suspicious." He found his shoes by the couch and rammed them on before leaving the room in search of the eggs Carol had promised him. As he left, he heard Mr Lister call after him:

"I'm your hallucination Matthew. I'd say just looking crazy isn't the main issue here."


	16. Adopted

**Rick **

Rick closed the door softly behind him and looked at Carol.

"What do you think?" Carol looked behind her and sighed.

"I think something bad happened to those boys and that's why he's scared of us." Rick frowned and rubbed his neck.

"You think he's scared of us?" Carol nodded.

"Come on Rick. We've been through hell and back these last few months. I had nightmares about the complex for a week after we left. Georgie has only just started to come out of whatever state she was in. Can you imagine how it would affect two young boys, alone, without their parents?"

Rick swallowed. He thought of Carl, alone in this new world, facing walkers and people like the Governor. It made his stomach clench. He began to wonder what the two boys had been through, what they had seen. He wondered where their families were. Had they started out together? Had they just gotten separated, or had they lost them? Matthew couldn't be older than fourteen. Had he been looking after Harry? How long had he had to act like an adult? He sucked in a breath sharply, shaking his head.

At the bottom of the stairs, Ben and Adele were waiting for the pair of them.

"How was he?" Rick exchanged glances with Carol before answering.

"Hard to say. He's been through a lot that's for sure. They both have. But, I think he's hiding something."

Ben nodded. "He could well be. Like you say, he's been through a lot. We don't know if he's met people like the Governor. It'd be hard for a child his age to trust again. Especially when you take into consideration that he seems have taken charge of his brother's welfare. A lot of responsibility for someone who looks barely into their teens."

Rick nodded. What Ben was saying made sense. When he thought back, to how readily they'd accepted Georgie into the group, he couldn't believe how naive they'd been-how trusting-compared to how they were treating two boys under the age of 16. The complex had taught them some harsh lessons, lesson's that Matthew had obviously also learnt. But that didn't explain all his strange behaviour.

"There's something else. When he woke up, he was fine. Then I turned around and the kid burst into tears. I didn't do anything, say anything, but he still started crying."

Ben looked thoughtful for a moment. "That could be exhaustion. Trauma. He could have been scared-I don't know why you thought it was a good idea to wear your sheriff's uniform. I said you two should go because you're both parents. You should have been talking to him as a kid, not a suspect..."

Rick cut him short before he could be given a lecture. "Not only that, he was acting really weird when we were talking to him too. He kept..."

"Matthew!"

A child's cry stopped Rick mid flow. He looked up to see Georgie ushering in the three children, followed by Daryl. Harry was at the front looking behind Rick up the stairs. The four adults turned to see Matthew coming down the stairs. Rick couldn't help but wonder if the boy had been listening at the top, or if he had just come out of the room. Harry ran across to his older brother, glanced at Rick and then almost stopped dead in his tracks, a look of shock etched into his face.

"Harry." Matthew strode across to his brother and put a protective arm around him. "Are you ok?" Harry seemed to recover and nodded mutely, still staring at Rick. "Ok then." Matthew was now talking unnecessarily loudly, seemingly trying to detract attention away from his brother. "Take me to the eggs. I'm starving." Harry tore his gaze away from Rick, and lead his brother towards the dining room. As the pair passed Daryl and Georgie, Rick noticed that Matthew glanced at Daryl-not as obviously as Harry had done to him, but enough to notice it. As soon as the two had entered the kitchen, Adele turned to Rick.

"What the hell...Did you see the way that kid was looking at you?"

"He was staring that way at Daryl too." Georgie and Daryl crossed the room and entered the conversation. "I went outside with the kids first and started building a snowman. When Daryl came out, Harry just froze. I called him three times, no response. He just stared at him, like he'd..."

"...Seen a ghost." Ben finished. "That's what it looked like, it looked like he'd seen a ghost." He looked at Daryl, then back to Ben. "It's possible that you both remind them of someone they knew, that they believed to be dead. If that's the case, it might be easier for one of you two to gain their trust." Adele snorted.

"Rick maybe. I can't see Daryl being a sensitive listening type." Daryl made no response, just looked bored.

"Look, I don't know how to deal with this trauma thing you keep going on about, but you're the expert Ben, whatever you say we need to do, I'll do it." Rick glanced over at the restaurant doors, to check that Matthew wasn't listening in on them. "But I gotta tell you, there's something else going on with that kid. When we were talking to him, he paused before he answered us. Not only that, he kept looking at the wall"

"So?"

"So, it was like he was looking at someone, like they were telling him what to do or something."

"You sayin' the kid's crazy?" Daryl looked up from his nails. "Hearin' voices, seein' pink elephants, whatever?"

"Could be another symptom of the trauma," Ben said. "Doesn't mean he's 'crazy' Daryl. Just the effect of stress on a young mind."

"So he's crazy. Ev'y time someone loses it around here, you go callin' it stress, or trauma. Just say wack job, call it what it is." Georgie looked at Daryl, a mixture of hurt and amusement on her face.

"Hey. Ben said I was suffering Post Traumatic Stress." Daryl looked bored again.

"Yeah, so ya went crazy for a while."

"HEY!"

"Regardless of who's crazy and who's not, it's obvious we need to keep an eye on them both." Carol intervened quickly, to Rick's relief. He didn't put it past Daryl and Georgie to start a full blown fist fight.

"Agreed. So, be kind to them both, but not pushy. Hopefully we can get them to tell us where they have been of their own accord." On those words, the group dispersed, and Rick walked over to Carl, who had been sat on the couch talking to Sophie.

"Dad, why was Harry staring at you?" Carl didn't even wait for Rick to sit on the couch before he asked him.

"I don't know Carl. Maybe I remind him of someone he lost." Rick hugged his son close to him, and tried not to think about what Carl would do if something happened to him.

"Like his dad you mean?"

"Yeah, maybe." Carl was silent for a moment.

"It must be hard for him. I mean, there are loads of grownups here. So me and Sophie will always have someone to look after us. But Matthew and Harry didn't have any grownups." He looked up at Rick. "Are we going to look after them now?"

Rick felt a surge of love for his son, who somehow seemed to have managed to avoid developing a suspicion of strangers, and thought only of helping others. He kissed him on his forehead.

"Yeah. We're going to look after them both."

**A few notes:**

**Thanks for all the reviews so far! Please keep commenting, ESPECIALLY if you're not convinced about a character-constructive criticism is really important to me!**

**Some of you who read the comics may have twigged that Matthew's conversations with Mr Lister are similar to Michonne's conversations. I did this deliberately, because I don't have any intention of writing her in any time soon. Maybe in the distant future. **

**Oh, and those of you who PMed me-**

**1-yes T-Dog and Miao have 'a thing'. But that'll all come out later. **

**2-I'm not telling you if Matthew and Harry are good news or bad news. Mainly because I haven't decided myself. **

**3-I promise, there will be some action soon!**

**Oh and Nelle07. Yeah, she will. Big style **


	17. Celebration

**Adele**

"You know what I don't understand." Andrea turned to face Adele.

"What don't you understand?" The pair of them were sat on the steps leading out to the hotels back enclosure, watching Carl and Sophie play. Over the past few days, the snow had been steadily melting, and the weather had become a lot milder. Even though they were well into December, Adele was hopeful that they had had the worst of the weather.

"Daryl being good with kids. The man's got no social skills at all. He's obnoxious, mean and yet look at him." Adele grinned. Although Matthew had still not opened up to anyone, Harry had for some reason latched onto Daryl, following him around like a silent shadow. More surprisingly than Harry's choice, was the fact that Daryl tolerated this. Adele had observed him actually teaching Harry how to skin a rabbit, an act that she had felt compelled to stop when she saw the size of the knife Daryl expected Harry to use. At the moment, Daryl was adjusting his bow, whilst Harry sat next to him, watching his every movement. It was almost sweet.

"Well, he's not good with kids is he? He doesn't let Sophie and Carl follow him around like that," Adele pointed out.

"Sophie's scared of him, and she worships you and Georgie anyway. You know this. And Carl has Rick." Andrea stretched her arms and looked around. "Where is Georgie anyway? Her and Daryl are thick as thieves recently. They're always together."

"Yeah. It's killing Katie. She hates it." Adele grinned.

"Maybe if you didn't keep rubbing her face in it, she would take it better." Andrea sounded disapproving, but Adele knew she found Katie's attempts at possessiveness and her clingy behaviour as irritating as she did.

"PLEASE! The woman deserves it. I mean seriously, she sleeps with him one time and suddenly she thinks they're a couple." Adele shook her head in disbelief. "I mean for one thing, it's Daryl Dixon. I don't know the guy that well, but even I can see, he's not Mr Commitment. And even if he had the potential to be, following anyone around, literally holding onto them the way she does would put anyone off. I mean, it's cute when Harry does it, but that's because he's what, Ten? Eleven?"

"And he's not trying to hump Daryl's leg," Andrea interjected dryly. Adele snorted with laughter, making Harry and Daryl turn to look at the pair of them. When they had calmed themselves, Adele carried on in a lowered voice.

"Another thing. Remember when Daryl was locked away in solitary. Katie didn't even offer to go back to find him."

"Oh god, you're right," Andrea's eyes widened. "She wanted to leave him."

"Uh huh, "Adele nodded, as she warmed to the subject. "One minute she doesn't think he's worth saving, the next, he's her man. It's weird. I mean, surely she can see how uninterested he is-has he even spoken to her since they slept together? Out of choice? And the way she looks at Georgie every time he speaks to her. Especially after the whole carrying her through the snow for an hour. Deep down, Katie knows he wouldn't do that for her. Shit, if I didn't know Georgie could handle herself, I'd be worried for her."

"I know what you mean. And, since Daryl took Harry under his wing, she looks at him that same way. I've seen her watching the pair of them, and the look on her face..." Andrea trailed off. Adele shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't noticed Katie looking at Harry that way. With all the focus on getting use to the hotel and trying to gain the trust of Matthew and Harry, she wondered if anyone had noticed.

"Maybe someone should warn Daryl that his lovely lady is a psycho. Andrea stood up. "I'll have a word."

"Check what they're doing as well. I've had to remove weapons from Harry twice since Daryl started looking after him." Andrea groaned.

"Great, so he's teaching him to be mini Daryl. Just what we all want." She walked over to the two as Adele laughed. She turned her body, so she took up the whole step and looked inside the French windows. From this vantage point, she could see the reception area, the stairs leading down to it and keep an eye on goings on in the open space outside the hotel. She frowned slightly. Andrea's words had worried her. Katie's behaviour, whilst amusing at first, was worrying her. She had all but given up on clinging to Daryl, choosing instead to watching him from a distance. And the look on her face when he talked to anyone-Georgie and apparently Harry in particular-was nothing short of murderous. She resolved to keep a closer eye on her, and talk one of the other group leaders about it.

Speaking of keeping an eye on someone, she wondered where Georgie was. Her friend seemed to have recovered slightly from whatever had ailed her in the clearing. Somehow, falling through the ice after Sophie had snapped her out of it. She still wasn't the same Georgie she remembered, the one who she had lived with for two years before they had returned to America, but then again, she supposed that could be attributed to having to live through a zombie apocalypse. Although she still hadn't spoken properly about what had transpired between her and the Governor, she didn't seem to feel the need to avoid it by being busy 24/7. She was calmer, and seemed to be sleeping better. Adele wondered if it had anything to do with Carol. Georgie was sleeping in her room, and Adele had noticed Carol's motherly way of looking after Georgie. Perhaps that was all that was needed.

As Adele sat, lost in her own thoughts, Georgie herself appeared from a corridor to the right. She was carrying a bag that seemed full, and she was looking around her secretively. Intrigued, Adele tapped on the glass. Georgie jumped, and then seeing Adele grinned widely and beckoned her towards her. Adele stood up, and walked into the reception area.

"What are you up to..."

"Shh!" Georgie put her finger to her lips, and opened her bag, which was full of mini bottles of alcohol-vodka, tequila, rum, whisky, some questionable looking blue stuff. Lou could even see some soda and cola bottles for mixers. She looked at Georgie.

"Ok. I know that you've been through a lot, but turning to alcohol isn't exactly helpful right now. You're stronger than the drink Georgie, I believe in you!" Adele grabbed Georgie's shoulders and shook her in a melodrama soap opera fashion.

"Shut up," Georgie laughed as she pushed her away. "I was looking for you. Me, T-Dog and Daryl felt we deserved a celebration after finding this place. And when Harry told Daryl about the mini bars, we went scouting for supplies. Hence..." she gestured to her bag. "I think T-Dog's bringing Miao. On a _date_."

"Aww sweet." Adele let go of Georgie's shoulders. "Sorry babes, but I don't think Ben would be down with me being your date."

"Ben will be down with anything I tell him to be." Georgie started to walk towards the stairs, gesturing to Adele to follow her. "Anyway, I was going to say, you and Ben should join us. There's beer and vodka and coke with your name on. Diet coke for Ben of course."

"Oi!" Adele punched her friend lightly in the back, enjoying the banter. "Who else will be at this celebration. Or is it highly exclusive?"

"Highly exclusive." Georgie started to climb the stairs. "Na, I wanted to invite Glenn and Maggie, but T-Dog said apparently putting Daryl, Glenn and alcohol in the same room is a bad idea. For Glenn anyway. And Maggie wouldn't come without Glenn. I thought about asking Katie..."

"Oh I bet Daryl loved that."

"_So _much. I think his words were: Invite that crazy skank an I promise you, I'll use her goddam mouth as a bottle opener jus' ta shut her up."

Adele laughed in delight as they reached the top of the stairs. "You sounded just like him! God, me and Andrea were just talking about her. She's so...Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction."

"I feel sorry for her." Georgie walked towards T-Dogs room. "I mean, yes she is obsessive and sad, but calling her a skank. I mean, he slept with her too. Is it just because she's the woman that she becomes the skank?"

"Sexual politics, really? That's your concern?" Adele leant on the wall as Georgie knocked on T-Dogs door. "I don't know if you've noticed, but the woman HATES you. You want to be careful that she doesn't try to...did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Georgie turned to Adele as T-Dog opened the door.

"Nothing." Adele was certain she had heard a door shutting on the floor, but if Georgie hadn't heard it, maybe she was imagining it. She followed Georgie into the room and gasped out loud.

"Sweet mother of..." The room was packed with mini bottles of alcohol. "Where the hell did you get all this alcohol Georgie?"

"There are four floors of rooms and mini bars," T-Dog pointed out. "And a store cupboard where they keep the bottles for stocking up said mini bars."

Adele burst out laughing. "How much were you planning on drinking? I don't think I can do this justice."

Georgie held up a vodka bottle and wiggled it in front of Adele's face putting on a squeaky voice.

"If you don't drink me Adele, I can never fulfil my destiny. And you and Ben will never have a proper relationship. It's not official until you've had awkward drunken sex." She put the bottle down and smiled. "I just want to do something normal, like we use to in England. And drinking is the only real option at the moment. You can't back out now, you're in for the win."

"Hey," Adele put an offended look on her face. "I said I didn't _think _I could do it justice, I didn't say I wasn't going to _try_"

Much later that night, Adele found herself sat in T-Dogs room, with Georgie, Daryl, Miao, Ben and T-Dog. T-Dog had found a pack of cards from somewhere, and was shuffling them Vegas Style, trying to convince the rest of the group to play poker. Adele had no intention of playing, mainly because Ben, who seemed to have gotten drunk scarily fast, kept trying to convince everyone to make it strip poker, but also because she was too drunk to focus on the numbers on the cards, and she would lose fast. She had a sneaking feeling that if Ben hadn't been trying to keep pace with Daryl, he would have handled his drink better. She wasn't sure if it was because they weren't eating as much as they usually did, or the fact she hadn't drunk so much at once for almost, if not over a year, but she swore that she had gotten drunk a lot quicker then she usually would have. The only person who seemed not to be close to wasted was in fact T-Dog. Both Miao and Georgie were giggly and in high spirits, and even Daryl seemed relaxed.

"Give it up Dawwwwg," Daryl drew out the last word. "No one wants to play any dumb card game. Now, git me another beer."

"I'm not your slave man." T-Dog flicked a card at Daryl, who unsuccessfully tried to bat it away. "And don't call me _Dawwwwwwwwwg_. It's not hip when you say it, just hick."

"Fine, git me another beer, _please._" T-Dog flicked three more cards at Daryl. Adele watched in amusement. She knew of course that Daryl and T-Dog had struck up an unlikely friendship, but she had never seen it played out like this. The two had joked and bantered all night, and although some of the comments had made Adele draw in her breath waiting for a fight to erupt, the mood had been easy.

"Hey, how come you're not drunk yet," Ben pointed at T-Dog accusingly. "You've drank as much as I have."

"More." Miao held up three bottles. "We started before you all arrived."

"So, so," Ben struggle to collect his words. He was defiantly slurring. "Why aren't you drunk?"

"Because he's a man." Miao threw her arms around T-Dog and looked up at him adoringly, albeit blearily. Adele nudged Georgie who giggled and leaned into her.

"Alcohol, mans aphrodisiac." Daryl overheard them and snorted.

"Woman's on heat fer him. Only a matter of time." Georgie whisper squealed.

"Daryl you have no poetry in your soul." She poked him in the chest hard on the words 'poetry' and 'soul'. Adele laughed. She was beginning to like Daryl. Well, drunk Daryl anyway. He was easier to get on with, and was generally more relaxed. Plus he, T-Dog and Georgie were hilariously funny together. When had this friendship developed? She almost felt a little jealous, like Georgie was being taken away from her. As if she could hear her thoughts, Georgie half fell, half dove into Adele's lap.

"I've missed being drunk together. All we need is some music and it's like old times again." Adele laughed and picked up another mini bottle of vodka. As she was deciding if she should bother with the formality of mixing it with a coke, or if she had gotten to the point of just downing it straight, there was a knock on the door.

Everyone froze. For a moment, there was silence, then another knock.

"What if it's walkers?" Ben spoke up from beside the couch, where he had curled up, in an attempt to stop the room spinning Adele supposed. "That's my man," she thought in amusement.

"Walkers don't knock ya dumbass." Daryl attempted to get to his feet, but simply fell back on his ass.

"What if they learned?" Adele and Georgie burst into a fit of giggles. Adele pushed her friend off her lap and staggered to the door.

"Yel-low? If you're a walker, knock once please, if not, knock twice." Georgie and Miao fell into fits of giggles. A pause from outside then one knock.

"Shit, it's a walker!" T-Dog went to stand up, but then another came quickly. By this stage, the girls were hysterically laughing. Adele had a pain in her side and was gasping for air. She opened the door, with her arms wide open.

"Welcome to the club! Oh..." Stood in front of her, was Matthew, looking small.

"I'm sorry. I can't sleep. Can I come in here with you guys?" Adele was slightly taken aback. She looked back at the others.

"Yeah sure, why not." She staggered aside to let the boy in. Hesitantly, he walked just enough into the room for Adele to shut the door behind him.

"He can stay on one condition," Daryl held up a finger. He had one eye closed, as if he was having problems focusing on it. "If he's sittin' with the big dawgs, he drinks like the big dawgs."

"I told you already to stop sayin' that." Daryl waved a hand at T-Dog, and held out a bottle to Matthew.

"He's not old enough, it's illegal," Miao protested weakly.

"So go tell the Sherriff." Daryl waved the bottle at Matthew. "Come on kid. Thirteen's a good time ta start drinkin'. S'when I started."

"Why am I not suprised." Adele sighed as Matthew took the bottle off Daryl and drank from it, coughing at first. As he sat down on the couch, he placed the bottle on the floor, only to be handed another one by Daryl. Georgie pushed herself off the floor and pointed her finger at Daryl.

"You. Are. The worst. Role Model. Ever."

Adele smiled and moved towards the group. As she moved, she remembered the door. She turned to close it, but it was already shut. She felt that feeling of unease again. The door was too heavy to have shut by itself. She studied it for a moment, and then Ben's voice pulled her back into the room.

"I think I'm going to be sick."


	18. Revelations

**Ok so I'm off on holiday for a week in a few days, so I'm having a bit of a fanfic binge. SO I hope you enjoy the next few chapters!**

"Is Ben ok?" Georgie looked up at Adele as she re-entered the room. Adele pulled a face.

"He is going to feel really bad tomorrow." She sat down in front of the couch, between Daryl and Matthew. T-Dog and Miao were asleep or passed out by the TV, T-Dog propped up against the wall, Miao's head resting in his lap. Georgie had sprawled herself across the couch, and sounded close to sleep herself. "I put him in a bed, laid a towel down, hopefully he won't be sick again."

"Poor Ben. He did well though."

Adele laughed. "Yeap. That's my man, right there. God bless him." She lay back and closed her eyes, then immediately opened them again to stop the room spinning. "Urk, maybe I should have stopped after...I don't even know how many. This is going to be hell tomorrow."

"More like today." Georgie's voice was softer now. "I think it's early morning..." Adele turned her head and saw Georgie's eyes were shut. She sighed and looked at Matthew. He was huddled up, had a pile of mini bottles at his feet and did not look well. She looked at Daryl.

"How many did you give him?" Daryl shrugged.

"Dunno. Some of them were cola anyways." He stood up. "Imma take a leak, then get some sleep." He poked Georgie. "I ain't sleepin' on the floor, so move over." Georgie mumbled something, then rolled over. As Daryl left the room, Adele put a hand on Matthews shoulder and shook him gently.

"Hey, Matthew. You ok?" When he didn't respond, she shifted near him. "Matthew? You feeling ok? Not going to be sick too?" Matthew shook his head slowly, not looking up.

"You want some water? Or another coke?" Another shake of the head.

"Ok." Adele looked around. Georgie was still asleep and Ben was passed out in the other room. She wasn't good with kids at the best of times, and certainly not when she and the child in question were both intoxicated. She wasn't sure what to do.

"Well...I'm just going to leave you to it then ok?" She started to move away, when Matthew drew in a shuddering breath.

"He looks like my dad." Adele stopped.

"Who does? Who looks like your dad?" Matthew looked up at her, with red eyes. Adele could see something in his fist, all crumpled up. She cautiously moved back towards him.

"Rick. I thought he was my dad. But he's dead. They both are."

"You mean your mum and dad?" Adele wondered if she could wake Ben up, if he would be sober enough to interact with Matthew.

"No. I mean yes. I mean..." Matthew put his chin on his knees and seemed to think. "My mum died when we were really young. So I don't remember her. It was always me, Harry, Dad and Uncle Ed. When the illness struck, the four of us ran to the city. But it was already full of monsters. And then we got lost in the woods. And then those people...they killed my Dad and Uncle. I saw them do it." Matthew's voice was starting to tremble. Adele hoped he wasn't about to cry, she knew she wouldn't be able to cope.

"Who killed them Matthew." She tentatively put her arm around Matthew, trying to offer some comfort. But Matthew didn't answer, just wrapped his arms around his head and leaned into Adele. For a moment, Adele didn't quite know how to respond. After a moment, she put her other arm around him and hugged him gently. After a moment, Matthew pulled away and looked down at his hand. He opened it up, revealing a very old crumpled photo. He smoothed it out and showed it to Adele.

"That's us last year." Adele squinted down at the photo, picking up a torch to get a clearer view.

"Jesus!" Adele's eyes opened in shock. She leaned closer to the photo to check alcohol wasn't playing tricks on her. She felt like she recognised all four people in the photo, even though she had only met two. In the foreground, Harry and Matthew were stood. Even here, it was obvious how close they were, Matthew had his arm around Harry and both boys were beaming into the camera. But it was the two men behind him that Adele was focused on. One was blonde, with a stocky build. He had small eyes, which were light in colour, and his weather beaten face was tanned. He was holding a freshly caught fish at arm's length and was laughing. The other was slightly taller, slimmer and maybe younger. He had brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He seemed to be in the middle of saying something to the camera, but was smiling as he said it. But what made Adele stare the most, was the shocking resemblance to Daryl and Rick.

"No wonder you reacted the way you did..." she turned to Matthew. "God. I...I don't know what to say. Is that why Harry...?"

"Harry was always really close to Uncle Ed." Matthew said, looking straight ahead. "It makes sense that he would follow Daryl around. And Daryl's really good with him."

"I think he reminds him of his little brother." Adele jumped as Georgie spoke from behind her. She still looked sleepy, but she had obviously been listening. She reached for the photo and looked at it closely before handing it back. "Daryl came from a big family. I think he had something like five brothers and sisters? I don't know." Before Adele could ask her anything more, Daryl himself walked in.

"Move over woman." Amid protests from Georgie, Daryl threw himself on the couch.

"Daryl, you're too _fat_. Urk." Georgie turned towards the couch back as Daryl made himself comfortable. Adele laughed quietly and turned to Matthew. But he had already started to fall asleep. She put his photo back into his hand, and watched him involuntary grip onto it. She wiggled down onto the floor to get comfortable. Before she fell asleep, she thought she saw the door to the room open slightly. But before she could make anything of it, a mixture of alcohol and tiredness over took her and she fell asleep.


	19. Conflict

**T-Dog **

T-Dog opened his eyes and winced. His head was pounding and his mouth felt dry. He looked around the room and took in the empty bottles and bodies lying around. Adele was lying in front of the couch on her side Georgie and Daryl on it. Miao was lying across his chest, and he realised he had his arm around her. He wondered if he should move it or not. A stirring noise from the sofa made him sit up. Georgie was stretching and sat up. She looked at Daryl and pulled a face.

"Urk." She placed her hands on his side and shoved him none too gently off the couch and onto the floor, before lying back down. Although his body missed Adele, his hand flailed out and wacked her in the face. Adele woke with a start and then moaned.

"Oh my Gooood. Why did we think this was a good idea again?" She looked at Daryl on the floor. "Jesus. We're lucky we weren't attacked by walkers. This one sleeps through anything." She turned to T-Dog, and broke into a big smile upon seeing Miao across his chest. "Morrrniiingg T-Dog." T-Dog decided to ignore her, and spoke to Georgie instead.

"Hey Georgie, you wanna check on Daryl?" Georgie rolled onto her side and peered over the couch edge at the hick.

"He's alive. I can hear him breathing. Bastard kept twitching in the night." She sat up and swung her legs over the couch. "Get up Daryl," she said, prodding him with her foot. Daryl grunted and woke up.

"How'd I get on the floor?" He looked around, apparently trying to figure out the means by which he had gone to sleep on the couch and woken up on the floor. "An where's the kid?"

"Ben's in there," Adele slowly moved to her feet. "Or do you mean Matthew? Well, he's...gone?"

"Probably went back to his room." Georgie rubbed her face. "I think I will too. I need water. And a wash."

"Same." Adele walked unsteadily to the bedroom door. "I'll just check on Ben." As the three started to make a move, Miao stirred on T-Dog's chest. She lifted her head and looked around her.

"My head hurts. And I'm really hungry." T-Dog grinned.

"Eggs?"

Half an hour later, the party goers were sat around a table eating plates of T-Dog's, by this time famous, powered eggs. All except Ben, who sat at the table, his head in his hands moaning.

"This looks familiar." Glenn, Rick, Carol and Dale walked in the room looking at Ben in amusement. Glenn helped himself to eggs and sat himself down by Ben. "Try to go head to head with Daryl when drinking?" Ben hiccupped and nodded mutely. "Been there friend. Oh well, lesson learned." Glenn tucked into his eggs with gusto, as Ben slid his head down onto the table.

"Not that I'm against letting loose a little," Dale started, "but what if walkers had come? I mean four out of the six real fighters would have been drunk last night." Daryl scowled and looked ready to snap at Dale. T-Dog responded before Daryl could.

"Don't worry. We had a system. No walkers would have got in the room." Adele and Miao sniggered into their breakfast and shot each other conspiring looks. At Dale's confused look, T-Dog smiled. "You had to be there. Inside joke."

"Mmmmm." Carol looked amused. "We need more firewood. I think I'll go out this morning."

Georgie looked up. "Want me to come with you Carol?" Carol smiled.

"I'll be ok. Anyway I think you need to recover." Georgie nodded.

"Well take my jacket. The black one. It's somewhere under my bed I think. And a gun. The weather's getting milder, you can't be too careful. Where's Sophie?" Carol laughed.

"You'd think you were the parent here. Sophie's with Maggie so she's fine. And I'll be careful." She went to leave the room.

"Aren't you having breakfast?" Carol laughed.

"It's midday. You mean lunch."

After eating, Ben and Adele went back to their room, so Ben could curl up in bed. T-Dog, Miao, Daryl and Georgie went and sat in the reception area. T-Dog leant back on the couch next to Miao and reflected. It was a nice feeling, just relaxing with friends, not worried about walkers or where the next meal was coming from. He casually stretched out his arm along the back of the sofa. After a moment Miao shifted into his body. He grinned. They'd had a good time last night; a good lie in; eggs; his friends were here; Miao was here and there was no sign of danger anywhere. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt actually content like this.

He was listening to Miao and Georgie discuss the various feminine products they had liberated from the bathroom cabinets in the hotel rooms, when Daryl swore under his breath. Katie was coming towards them, or rather towards Daryl. Daryl made to get up, but it was too late, she had seen him.

"Daryl?" Katie smiled a dazzling smile that seemed to be totally lost on the man. "Hey. How's your head?" Daryl grunted in response. T-Dog was amazed that Katie was still after him. Surely he had made his lack of interest clear? But apparently not to Katie who pressed on.

"So...I was thinking...we haven't spent much time together in like, forever." She crouched down in front of him and leaned into him. "I know a _really _good hangover cure, if you know what I mean." Georgie and Miao looked uncomfortable. T-Dog squirmed inside. Was she really being this obvious in front of them? He looked at Daryl, who had no expression on his face, and noticed that Katie's hand was resting none too lightly on the upper part of his thigh. Katie's face moved closer to Daryl's and then the hick lost his temper.

"Get off me ya skank!" Grabbing her by the upper arms, he pushed her away so suddenly that she fell on her behind, looking at him in shock. "What does it take to show ya, I ain't interested in ya. Ya complain all th time, ya don't do anything to help, ya follow me around ev'ry where. I wish I'd never laid hands on ya. Ya desperate slut, go find someone else to screw, cause once is enough fer me."

Katie's eyes opened wide. She looked on the verge of tears. She opened and closed her mouth and then got up and walked away. T-Dog suddenly felt incredibly sorry for her. Georgie obviously felt the same. She frowned at Daryl.

"Bit harsh Daryl." She scrambled to her feet and walked after Katie, catching up with her and placing her hand on her shoulder. Katie turned her head and took in Georgie for a nanosecond. Then, she reached her hand back and slapped her around the face so hard that the sound echoed around the room. T-Dog and Daryl jumped to their feet. The slap was so hard that Georgie had taken a step backwards, clutching her face in shock. Before she could recover, Katie was attacking her, not in the way that T-Dog had seen Georgie train her in the complex, but the way he had seen women fight outside night clubs after one too many. Scratches to the neck and eyes, slaps around the face, and hair pulling.

Before T-Dog and Daryl could separate the two ladies, Georgie had recovered her composure, and landed a hard punch to Katie's stomach. Katie reeled backwards. Georgie stood ready to defend herself again, but there was no need. With a loud sob, Katie rushed upstairs, without as much as a backwards glance. T-Dog rushed up to Georgie, who had a nasty looking scratch on her neck.

"Lemmie see that." Daryl went to examine the mark, but Georgie moved away.

"Oh no, I think you've done enough don't you?" She moved to the kitchen. "I'll sort myself. There's a first aid kit in the kitchen." Daryl turned to T-Dog.

"What did she mean? I ain't done nothing!" T-Dog sighed. Daryl wasn't as much of a redneck as they had all first though, but he was pretty stupid sometimes. T-Dog considered him his closest friend in the complex-something that he still couldn't quite believe-but even he got exasperated with him sometimes. Suddenly, he was too tired to explain to him what had happened.

"I don't know. Girl stuff I suppose." He walked back to the couch and Miao. Maybe he could still salvage that good feeling he'd had before Katie turned up.


	20. Missing

**Andrea**

Andrea stretched out her arms behind her, wrapping her arms around Dale's neck. She felt his one arm tighten slightly around her waist, and a kiss on her head. She smiled. They had found the hotel's impressive library, and were spending the afternoon hiding away from the others. Andrea had found a copy of her favourite book, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany,' whilst Dale had opted for a collection of short Sherlock Holmes stories.

Andrea loved it in the library. It had somehow retained a sense of peace and order through the chaos that had descended on the land. Even though they were alone together, she and Dale had been whispering to each other, preserving the sense that for a short moment, they were living in the world that had been, not the world that was.

"How's your book?" Dale carefully folded the corner of the book down to keep his place and rested his arm on the table.

"Just as good as I remember." Andrea smiled and placed the open book on her lap. "Although I have to say, it speaks to me so much more now."

"What do you mean?"

Andrea thought carefully about her response. "Well...Owen Meany...he knew when and why he was going to die. And that helped him accept his death. He knew he was going to save those children from something awful. And that it was God's plan. It kind of made me think. Would it be better to know you were going to die? Would we accept it how he did? Even if it was a violent death?" She looked up at Dale. "Do I sound crazy?"

"You sound like you've given this a lot of thought." Dale looked down at her and smiled. "Makes my reading seem superficial." He glanced down at his book. "Currently Sherlock has just deduced that one of the pills he has found is poisonous by testing it on a terrier. Wiggins has called him a cab."

"Don't you mean Watson?"

"No Wiggins. He's a beggar that Sherlock sometimes employs to help him."

"Oh." Andrea turned back to her book. She couldn't help feeling like Dale hadn't quite taken her seriously and it bothered her a little. Before she could get back into it though, Dale spoke again.

"I think it depends on the person." She put her book down and listened. "We're all going to die someday. Perhaps if you knew it was going to be soon, you'd live your life to the fullest. Or maybe you'd give up trying. If you knew it wasn't going to be a while, maybe you wouldn't make the most of the time you had, because you thought you weren't going to die for ages."

"Like Amy and her term papers."Andrea smiled at the memory. "She'd ring me at the end of the semester all stressed out because she had this and that paper due. And I'd say how long have you had to work on this? And she'd always have had weeks and weeks, but put it off because she thought she had more time." Andrea paused, reflecting on what she had said. "I think we always think we have more time than we do. And then, when the deadline comes...we haven't done anything..."

Dale held her with both arms. Andrea blinked back tears and swallowed. "Maybe it's better not to know. And just keep going with all we have."

For a moment there was silence. Then Andrea heard the library door open and someone walk in.

"Hello?" Maggie's voice echoed around the library.

"Hey Maggie." Andrea cleared her throat. "Looking for a book?"

"No." Maggie's face peered around a bookshelf. "For Carol. She still hasn't come back from collecting firewood. I thought she might have snuck in here for a read?" Dale frowned.

"Just me and Andrea in here. Has been all day." Maggie bit her lip.

"She said she'd be an hour at most. That was three hours ago. Rick and T-Dog are pretty worried. So's Sophie. We've looked all over the hotel." She looked at Andrea. "Do you think you could go out with some of the others and just look in the surrounding area before it gets too dark. Georgie's worried that she might have hurt herself and not be able to walk."

"Sure." Andrea stood up. Owen Meany could wait. Dale followed close behind her.

In the reception area, all the adults except Ben and Miao were present. Maggie explained that they had taken Harry, Carl and Sophie upstairs out of the way. Andrea looked around. Everyone's face was tense and worried. The atmosphere was strained. She walked over to Rick.

"Has she really been gone that long?" Rick nodded.

"We're going to go out in pairs and try to sweep the area before it gets dark. Hopefully, she's just lost track of the time." He checked his revolver. "Me and Georgie will pair up and to the left. T-Dog and Daryl are going straight ahead. Dale and Glenn will check the front area and you and Adele will go right." Andrea nodded.

"What about me?" Andrea turned to see Matthew sat on the stairs. He had the beginnings of an angry bruise on the side of his face and was holding a large knife in his hands. The sight of this made Andrea nervous. She hadn't had much to do with Matthew since he had arrived, but she had overheard him talking to thin air on many occasions. Before Rick even opened his mouth, Daryl motioned him over.

"Come wit me n T-Dog. Ya got my huntin' knife anyway." As Matthew walked over to the pair, Andrea turned to Rick.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Rick shrugged. "And how did he get that bruise?" Rick sighed.

"Apparently he joined in the little party last night. Tried to get back into his bed, tripped and wacked his face on the coffee table in his room." Andrea looked back at the boy and flinched. She could see the cut where the corner of the table must have caught the boy.

"Ok." Rick called out to everyone. If you're not searching, you're staying here in case Carol makes her way back here." Katie and Maggie nodded. Andrea noticed that Katie had a sullen expression on her face. "If we find her, fire **ONE **shot. As soon as you hear that shot, make your way back to the hotel. If you get into trouble, **TWO **shots. Be back before dark, we don't need anyone else going missing. Everyone understand?" A sea of nodding heads. Adele walked over to Andrea and passed her a shotgun.

"We better get moving. It's getting dark, and if Carol's still out there, we need to get a move on." Andrea nodded her agreement.

Outside was still bitterly cold, but the snow was almost gone. Andrea's whole body was on red alert, looking for both walkers and Carol. Every now and then her or Adele would call her name, and she could hear the other doing the same. In the fading light, every tree, every shadow seemed menacing and she almost shot at something that turned out to be harmless. After ten or fifteen minutes of walking, they came across a clearing surrounded by bushes and trees. Scanning the area, Adele shrugged.

"Nothing. Should we carry on forward, or ..." Andrea suddenly spotted something.

"Wait." Walking forward, she crouched down next to the dark pile she had seen. Cautiously, she reached out and touched it. It felt like a leather jacket. She picked it up and examined it further. It was wet and sticky, and in places seemed to have been ripped to shreds. Adele peered over her shoulder.

"It's Georgie's jacket. What's it doing out here?" She took it off Andrea and looked at it. Andrea looked down at her hands. Something was on them. She raised her fingers to her nose and sniffed. A metallic tang hit her nose, and she realised what it was. She raised her hands to the light and gasped in horror as the blood stood out on her hands.

"OH GOD!" Adele dropped the jacket. Andrea turned to look at her, and saw her were hands covered in blood too. Adele looked at her in horror.

"Georgie, gave her jacket to Carol to wear. When we were getting ready to go out, she had to put on two jumpers because Carol had..." She stared at Andrea. "Carol could be..."

Andrea pointed her shotgun in the air and shot twice. This was serious. Gone were any thoughts of Carol making her own way home. It was obvious that she was at best, severely wounded. More likely, she was dead. And from the looks of the jacket, it wasn't wild animals that had done this. Her mind started to race. Was it possible that walkers had done this? Were there other people in the area? Surely no one in their camp could have done this to one of their own? And then she remembered the bruise on Matthews face. A bruise that could have been caused falling onto a coffee table. Or that could have been the result of someone fighting for their life. She swallowed.

Just how strong could a thirteen year old boy be?


	21. Murder

**Georgie**

Georgie closed the door as silently as she could. She had spent a sleepless night on the couch of Daryl's room, trying to think through the events of the previous night. Most of her thoughts had been centred on blaming herself. She should have insisted on going with Carol to find firewood. If she had been there, whatever had happened she could have defended them both. She groaned and padded softly down the hall.

T-Dog and Rick had escorted her back to the hotel, not allowing her to help look for the body, which was still missing. Georgie didn't remember the walk back, nor how she had ended up in the reception area. She didn't really remember how long she had waited there, with Rick and T-Dog. She supposed that was what actual shock was like. After they had brought the jacket back to the hotel, and the full scale of the damage had been seen in torch light, Georgie wanted to be physically sick. It was obvious that someone had taken a knife to Carol and slashed at every part of her they could reach. What wasn't obvious was if Carol had shaken off the jacket herself, or if it had been taken off afterwards. None of this had really woken Georgie up from her half nightmare. What had woken her up, was Andreas accusation.

"Did you really get that bruise from a coffee table Matthew?" Everyone's head jerked up.

"What'd you say?" Daryl moved towards Andrea.

"I'm just saying. That bruise. A bit of a co-incidence don't you think?" Georgie stared at Andrea-was she really accusing Matthew of murder? She looked at Matthew. She didn't see a murderer, just an increasingly scared boy. Was she being naive? Andrea carried on, looking around to see if anyone else was agreeing.

"He has no alibi for the whole day. He's been in his room, but did anyone check? And he's clearly not balanced. We've all heard him talking to his friend. He had opportunity..."

"No, you can't be serious." Georgie's mouth seemed to move of it's own accord. "You can't just accuse people like that, you have no proof, only speculation." Speculation? Had she been an extra in CSI in a previous life? Andrea whirled around to face her.

"How can you say that? After all Carol did for you, she practically adopted you, and now you just want him to get away with it." Georgie felt an overwhelming urge to slap Andrea, or punch her. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"When I find who did this to Carol, I am going to make their last few hours on earth slow and painful. So it has to be the right person, not the result of a witch hunt. You can't just point the finger at the last person to enter the group."

"She's right." Rick's voice had been calm. "We need to make sure it's the right person. We have to hold onto our humanity. We need to investigate the whole area more thoroughly. Tomorrow we'll go out and have a closer look. Until then, I suggest we all go to bed. Try to sleep."

It had been hard to convince Andrea, and by this time other members of the group to agree to this. In the end, Daryl had barricaded Matthew in his bedroom and sleep on the couch. Georgie had stayed with the pair of them. Sophie was still with Miao and Ben, and the thought of sleeping alone in her old room had made her head swim. Before they had closed the door on him, Matthew had turned and thanked her for defending him. Georgie had tried to smile back, but she couldn't stop wondering if she was wrong about him. Once the door had closed, she had fallen onto the couch and stared blankly at the TV. It wasn't until Daryl had gingerly started to pat her back that she had realised she was crying.

By first light, she had made up her mind to go back to the clearing by herself and look around. As she entered the reception, she avoided looking at the counter where the jacket was. She picked up her crossbow, which she must have dropped when she came into the room and carefully slid the French windows open.

It didn't take her long to find the clearing. As she stepped into it, an overwhelming sense of nausea hit her. She turned and retched into the trees, coughing and choking. Standing up and wiping her mouth she scanned the scene; attempting to put her emotions aside and think like a CSI.

The first thing she wondered, was where was the blood. The jacket had been covered in it, so where had it all gone. Could they have trampled it into the grass when they had been here before. That was a possibility. She tried to think of all the episodes of CSI, CSI Miami and CSI:NY she had watched with her Dad and Adele back home. Transfer? Had they transferred any blood when they stepped in it? But wouldn't there be some footsteps? It hadn't rained. So there was the first problem. She carefully walked around the edge of the clearing. She couldn't see anything else to confirm who had done this to Carol. Not until...

It was so small she nearly missed it. But when she saw it, her heart skipped a beat.

A cigarette butt. Hidden in the trees facing into the clearing. She stepped next to it and picked it up. Someone had been smoking here. No one in the group smoked. Could this mean that there were other people around? She had no real way of telling if this was a recent butt or not. She leant against the tree and sighed. Then she sat up. Where was all the wood? Surely Carol must have collected some wood by now? So if she was killed here, where was it? Did this mean she was killed elsewhere and the jacket was dumped here. And if Matthew did do it, why would he dump it here? It didn't make sense. She grinned. Grissom and Langston would be proud. Now, if only she had a laboratory.

A noise from the left made her jump. She crouched down and realised what a good hiding spot this was. As she watched, she saw a slim figure walk into the clearing. It was Katie. Georgie wondered what she was doing out here. She stood up and walked towards her.

"Katie?" The redhead whirled around and pointed a gun at her. "Whoa! It's just me!" Georgie smiled reassuringly. Then she realised Katie wasn't lowering the gun. "Katie. It's me. Georgie. I'm not going to hurt you. So...you can put the gun down now."

"No I can't" Katie's voice was uneven and her hands were shaking. "I got it wrong yesterday. But I've learnt from that little mistake. I see you Georgie. I know it's you this time."

"This time..?" Georgie realised what Katie was saying. "You...killed Carol." Blind anger overtook her and she went to raise her bow. Katie laughed, jagged and harsh.

"You really think you can raise that before I shoot you between the eyes? You taught me well, remember?" She took a step forward. "I went looking for you yesterday. I saw that jacket and I thought...here's my chance. How was I to know you leant it out? Stupid bitch didn't even scream. But it was good practise. I got a bit carried away." She smiled. Georgie swallowed. She had lost it. And unless Georgie could think of something, she was going to be dead. Not un-dead, just plain dead.

"Katie..."

"DON'T KATIE ME!" Flecks of spit flew from Katie's mouth, and her eyes were wild and open. "You scheming home wreaking bitch. Don't think I don't know about you and Daryl. You act so nice to my face, but I hear you bad mouthing me behind my back. I saw you cosied up on the couch next to him. Keeping us apart, feeding him poison about me. I know it all you whore!" Georgie blinked.

"You're shooting me because of Daryl Dixon. Are you serious? Take him, he's yours!" Katie pulled the safety off.

"When I've killed you, I'll find a way to make it look like Matthew did it. When they execute him, Harry won't have anyone to look after him. Then when he's gone, it'll be just me and Daryl." Her hands weren't shaking anymore. Georgie suddenly realised she was about to die and that someone else would get blamed for it.

"Please God," she thought in her head. "If ever I needed a miracle, it's now."

A shot rang out, and Georgie waited. But she felt nothing. She stared at Katie, and noticed a patch of her hair getting redder. She fell to the floor, and Georgie realised she had been shot through the head. She looked around her and saw a figure in the shadows. He was reloading a shotgun. He was tall and stocky. His clothes were filthy. His skin was sallow.

And he had a human hand hanging from his belt.

Georgie's legs started moving almost before her brain told them too. She sprinted back towards the hotel. She couldn't hear if the person was following her, she just knew she needed to get back to the hotel. She fell and stumbled and could feel blood trickling from her palms and knees, but she didn't stop. She burst out of the trees, and saw Andrea and Rick at the French windows.

"GET INSIDE! GET INSIDE NOW!" Both Rick and Andrea stared at her blankly. Why weren't they moving, was she speaking Japanese? She screamed even louder at them "INSIDE NOW!" Both of them moved into the hotel, looking confused. She ran in after them and slammed the windows shut. Blood from her hands stained the glass, and she could herself shaking violently.

"What the hell..." Glenn and Adele were sat on the couches, Dale and Ben ran down from the rooms upstairs. "What's wrong Georgie, where were you?" As Georgie's brain made the connection between what she had seen and the logical explanation, she felt herself slip into darkness. Before she blacked out completely, she managed to choke out a few words."

"Cannibals. There are cannibals outside the hotel."

**Ok, so I'm off on holiday for a week now. Hope this is enough to keep you all going. Hope you're all not too bummed Katie died (lol!) **


	22. Trust

**Hey I'm back. I thoroughly recommend Bulgaria as a holiday destination. Hope you like the chapter-took me a few tries to get back into the swing of things and I'm not sure it's my best work :-/ **

**Daryl**

Perched on the end of the coffee table in his room, Daryl sighed, and placed his head in his hands. To his left, he heard Harry give a long sigh too. He didn't have to look at him to know Harry would have also placed his head in his hands. Ignoring him, he looked at Georgie, who for the second time in as many nights was curled up on his sofa. Except this time, to his relief, she was out for the count, not sobbing uncontrollably.

The previous night, after they had found the blood covered jacket, Daryl had volunteered to take charge of Matthew, and Georgie had accompanied him. At first, they had sat there in relative silence. Harry had been curled up at the base of the door, his head on a sofa cushion wrapped up in a blanket. It had been decided that it was best he didn't sleep in the room with Matthew, in case Matthew's supposed murderous tendencies urged him to kill his little brother. Daryl snorted at the idea, and heard an echo of his snort to his left. Matthew a murderer? He'd sooner paint Glenn as a pro wrestler. The kid was borderline crazy for sure, but he wasn't a killer. There was too much pain in his eyes. Killer's eyes were empty, like the Governors. He and Georgie had been sat on the couch in silence. Usually this suited the both of them, but even Daryl had felt uncomfortable. The girl had just lost the closest thing to a mother she had had and he had no idea what to say to her. He had examined his nails for an age, and then, unable to take the atmosphere had turned to her to suggest maybe she should be with Adele or T-Dog.

To his horror, silent tears were streaming down her face. She wasn't making a sound, but her breath was uneven. Daryl wanted to climb to the other end of the couch, as far away from her as possible. Hell, he liked Georgie, he liked her a lot, but this was out of his league. What the hell was he supposed to do? This wasn't like the time Susan had come home crying because some guy had stolen her lunch money. That time, he had gone out, found the bastard, beaten him to a pulp and brought the money home. From the looks of that jacket, nothing was bringing Carol home. Not alive anyway. For a few silent panic stricken moments, Daryl had stared at the sight of Georgie doing something vaguely feminine. Then, he'd reached out a hand and gingerly patted her on the shoulder. Immediately, he wished he hadn't. Her silent tears erupted into full blown sobs, and she'd thrown herself into his chest, crying like her heart was breaking. For a moment Daryl sat frozen, hands in mid air as if he was surrendering to a cop with a gun. Then he remembered something his Daddy had said to him a long time ago.

"Sometimes ain't nothing better fur a woman then a good cry. You'll be surprised how much good it'll do em. So don't be scaired of it, jus let em get it out themselves."

He slowly brought his arms around her shoulders and rubbed her back, letting her cry herself to sleep, which she did relatively quickly-or he thought she had. Maybe he had been so relieved that she'd stopped bawling that he'd assumed she was asleep. And then, like the crazy bitch she was, she went back out into the woods to confront who knows what, almost getting herself killed...

He leaned forward, and pulled the blanket up around her arms a little more, then turned to Harry.

"Think ya got some explaining ta do, don't ya?" Harry's head jerked up and he looked at Daryl in confusion. His eyes flicked towards the door, behind which Matthew was still being held captive. Daryl had every intent of opening the door and letting the boy out now that his innocence was proven, but not before he had had a chance to speak to Harry alone.

For some reason, the boy had been following Daryl around almost as soon as he and his older brother had been discovered in the hotel. Daryl had found this intensely annoying at first, but had managed to bite his tongue. At first, Harry just watched Daryl go about his work: sharpening arrows, skinning animals, checking equipment. Nothing too irritating. The few times Daryl had gone to hunt, T-Dog informed him, Harry had sat himself in the reception area and quietly waited there until Daryl had come back, a piece of information that Georgie had declared "sweet, if a little worrying." Then one day, Daryl had been skinning a few rabbits and realised that his knife was too blunt.

Before he could make a move, Harry had run upstairs, and had returned with another knife and the stone Daryl used for sharpening. Daryl had taken the two off Harry, surprised that he knew what he needed. After a moment's thought, he'd motioned Harry to sit closer, and was showing him how to skin a rabbit properly. Harry was a quick learner, and was skinning his second rabbit before Adele felt the need to take the knife away from him. From that moment, Daryl had started to teach Harry the same skills his father had taught him, and that he had been teaching his younger brother Dean before the dead started to walk. And he'd enjoyed it. Hell, it had felt like a taste of life before. He'd even kind of bonded with the kid. He knew bits about his life before, how his mother had died in a car accident when he was very small, how his Uncle had lived on the same street as him, that he really liked baseball, the fishing trips he took with his family. He knew darker things too, like how Harry loved his brother, but was scared of the imaginary man he spoke to, and was scared that Matthew had done 'bad things'.

He knew how to read him too. He knew Harry needed to have either himself or his elder brother in sight to feel safe. He knew he was jealous of Carl for having a daddy that looked so much like his own-it was written all over his face.

And when Rick had repeated the words Georgie had whispered-_Cannibals-_Daryl knew Harry had been afraid. Not the sort of fear you have of some bogeyman, that deep down you know isn't real. It was a fear brought on by experience. Daryl was willing to bet his teeth that Harry and Matthew knew something about these people in the woods. And dammit, Harry was gonna tell him.

He looked at Harry, trying to remember the look his Daddy and his Ma use to give him and his siblings when they wanted the truth. It must have worked, because Harry started to squirm under his gaze.

"C'mon now. Ya know somethin' about the people out there don't ya?" Harry looked at his feet.

"Don't ya?" Harry's voice came out in a whisper.

"Yes sir." Daryl paused. He tried to think how his Ma would have gotten the truth out of him-not by beating him to a pulp that's for sure. He shifted closer to Harry, looking him dead in the eye.

"What do ya know?" Harry swallowed, looking from him to the door where Matthew was.

"I...Matthew says if we tell you...you might let them get us..." The boy was close to tears. Daryl tried to control his frustration, but he had never had much patience, and not knowing what he was facing outside was making him more angry. He managed to do something he had never done before. He counted to ten before he spoke.

"Look at me. Ain't I the spit of ya Uncle Ed? Ain't we been like kin these last few days? I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya an ya brother, but I can't protect ya against somethin' if I don't know what it is. So Imma ask ya one. More. Time. Is it true? Are they really Cannibals out there?"

Harry's face turned up to look at Daryl. Fear was etched into every part of it.

"Yes sir." Daryl leant back. He had hoped that Harry would say no, that it was just something Georgie had imagined. He swore under his breath and looked at Harry, who had started to shake.

"They pretended to be good people. They said they were going to take care of us. Then they tied us up. They cut off my uncle's leg..." Harry's voice was trembling, and Daryl realised he was about to cry. "Matthew untied himself and me. He tried to untie my dad, but they saw him. We ran away, but Matthew went back to get my dad. He was gone a long time and when he came back, he had blood all over him and he was talking to someone who wasn't there." Daryl didn't need to think about what to do this time, he simply placed a fatherly arm around Harry, who sobbed as uncontrollably-although a lot more quietly-then Georgie.

"We kept running for ages until we found it here. We thought we were safe. When you came, we were scared you were them come to get us. But you weren't. We thought we were safe, but they've come for us. They've come to get me and Matthew, for what he did."

Before Daryl could ask Harry what Matthew could have done, the sound of smashing glass from the bedroom made them both start. Georgie jerked awake, her head whipping around to the bedroom. Daryl leapt to his feet and strode over. He pulled away the barricade and threw open the door. Swearing, he turned and raced out of the room, down the stairs.

The window had been smashed open. The room was empty. Matthew was gone.


	23. Mistake

**Matthew**

Scrambling down the wall of the hotel, Matthew barely noticed the stone grazing his hands and knees, although he knew the blood streaking down the walls must be his. He just knew he had to run away to get as far away as possible. Harry was telling Daryl everything and there would be no forgiveness for him. Not the boy who killed his own father. They would never understand what he had done.

Mr Lister had watched him become more and more agitated as he paced the room, listening to Daryl and Harry's conversation.

"Keep calm Matthew. Don't panic yet, they may understand what you did." Matthew shook his head violently.

"No they won't. You don't understand." Matthew stared at the carpet clenching his hands so hard that his nails almost broke the skin. "They're so loyal to each other, they wouldn't have done it. They'd have found a way..." He looked around the room. "I have to go."

"What?" Mr Lister moved forward. "You can't go out there alone. THEY'RE out there. They'll kill you before you've taken five steps. And what about Harry?"

"Harry will be fine," Matthew started to scan the room. "They'll look after him. And if I go out there, and they get me, they might leave everyone alone."

"You know that's not how it works Matthew." Mr Lister made a move towards Matthew. "They will hunt as many people as they can. They will kill them all. You need to be here to tell them what you know." Matthew grabbed a chair. "Don't do it Mathew. Stay with them, they'll keep you safe. Don't go out there alone."

"But I won't be alone." Matthew turned to Mr Lister. "I have you." Turning towards the window, he swung the chair with all his might. The window smashed on impact, easier than he had expected. Not waiting to see if he had been heard, he scrambled through. Looking back into the room, he saw the door begin to open and that Mr Lister had vanished.

Clambering down the wall, he could hear Daryl's cursing. Ignoring it, he kept his focus on finding footholds on the terrace, getting to the ground as soon as possible. Landing on his hands and feet, he looked up, to see Daryl, Rick and T-Dog running to the French windows. Losing all of his senses, he turned and started to bolt towards the trees. But a movement stopped him. A shadowy figure in the trees, moving towards him. Matthew's stomach started to churn. He knew almost instinctively who it was, he didn't have to see their face. He could hear someone shouting behind him, but he didn't know what to do. As the figure moved towards him, he could see it-no him, he knew who this was-lifting a shotgun.

"GET YOUR FUCKIN SELF INSIDE BOY!" Matthew could hear T-Dog's voice almost directly behind him. Suddenly, he felt two hands grab him and whirl him around, at the exact moment that a gunshot fired out.

He heard a scream from inside the hotel and was vaguely aware of T-Dog's shouts as another shot rang past, this time dangerously close to his head. He felt a splattering of blood and saw that T-Dog's face was bleeding, the skin burnt slightly where the bullet had skimmed it. Worse still, Daryl was face down on the floor, and blood was spurting out of his shoulder. Matthew stood stunned as Andrea and Rick rushed outside. Andrea grabbed Matthew and pulled him inside, Rick and T-Dog grabbed Daryl and half pulled, half carried him in. Georgie and Adele were stood on the doors, gun and crossbow in hand. When Georgie saw Daryl, her face paled.

"Get away from the window." Rick was in command again. Closing the doors, he took Georgie's gun and crossbow off her. "Go with Daryl." Georgie barely registered Matthew as she followed T-Dog and Daryl into the restaurant, but Matthew knew she must hate him. They all must hate him now. He sank into a chair and curled up as tight as he could. Within minutes, a hand was rested on his shoulder. He looked up, and registered with some surprise that Andrea was crouched down next to him.

"Hey." She looked tired. "Why did you run away?" Matthew looked at her.

"I thought you hated me." She shock her head.

"I'm sorry for what I said. I should have known better." She looked down at him, stroking his head, seeming to ignore the chaos around her. "You're just a child." She seemed to say this more to herself then to him.

"Andrea." Adele walked over and sat on the arm of the chair. "I'll look after Matt. You take up position by the door with Rick." As Andrea moved away, Adele swung her legs around, so her feet were sat on the chair seat. She moved her face down to Matthews, and watched him. After a moment, Matthew spoke.

"Daryl..." Adele waved her hand.

"Daryl'll be fine. Man, the way he's been going, I'm surprised he hasn't been killed already."

"But, the shot...he wasn't moving..." Adele shock her head.

"Daryl's like a cockroach. He doesn't die. You'll see." Sliding down onto the chair she slide an arm around Matthew and hugged him tightly. "You stupid boy. Why did you run Matthew?"

And, too tired to fight anymore, Matthew told her everything. How he had Harry had run away from the camp. How he had snuck back in hopes of finding his father alive and instead had seen him tied up to a tree, missing his legs. Seen a man, wielding a huge...sword? Knife? He couldn't remember much. Just that he had found the courage-or taken leave of his senses for long enough- to sneak up and steal a gun. To shoot the man in the back of the head. Then he had turned to look at his father just long enough to see that even thought he had no way of being bitten, his eyes had turned a milky white, and his breath was ragged and uneven-more like a growl. So, he had shot the gun a second time. As he had walked back, he had felt himself grow more and more ashamed, felt the guilt pierce his gut deeper and deeper.

"I shouldn't have...but I swear Adele...he'd turned...I know you don't believe me but he had...I didn't murder him I promise." Adele hugged him tighter.

"I know. We found out a long time ago, you don't have to be bitten to turn. You did the right thing. You released him. You didn't do anything wrong Matthew." A noise from the kitchen made them both look up. Georgie was coming out of the restaurant. She moved to the stairs, and grabbed Harry by the hand. Looking around, she saw Matthew. She jerked her head towards the doors.

"You too. Come on." Matthew looked at Adele, who nodded and pushed him towards the door.


	24. Stepup

**Three chapters in one day-am I spoiling you? Well a little. Truth is, I was meant to go out tonight, but there are MAJOR riots in my city centre (google Birmingham UK Riots) so instead here I am, fanficing. **

**Notes:**

**I'm glad you like Matthew, I was worried he was coming across as whiny. **

**I will try to get to writing some POV from Harry if that's what you all want! **

**And more Daryl and T-Dog too (I can never get enough of writing from their POV)**

**Daryl cannot cope with weeping women-it was going to be T-Dog, seeing as he and Georgie have a bond, but then I just thought Daryl would be funnier as I could just imagine the poor man's face!**

**Sophie will be taken care of later on (NOT KILLED before you all have panic attacks)**

**I do need to write in more for poor Dale-I promise I will!**

**Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the chapter. **

**T-Dog**

Once Daryl was in the restaurant, T-Dog was able to see that the shot wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. Ben and Glenn were already in there, loading up guns ready for fight.

"What happened?" Ben stood up in shock.

"What does it look like ya dumb smuck." T-Dog was impressed, even with a bullet in him, Daryl was able to spit out insults. T-Dog sat Daryl on a table and examined the damage. The bullet didn't seem to have broken the skin at the front, which was good news. Ben sprung into action.

"Put pressure on his back T-Dog, stop the bleeding. If the bullet's still in there, we need to get it out. Glenn, get the first aid kit and something for Daryl to bite on. Get some wine or vinegar too."

"Wine? Get me a beer-ARRGH." Daryl was already fighting against T-Dog's hand on his shoulder, not that T-Dog could blame him. His wound was killing him, and he didn't have a bullet inside him.

"The wine isn't to drink idiot, it's to clean your wound." T-Dog looked up.

"Get the man both Glenn. This is going to hurt." He looked down at his hands, which were now covered in Daryl's blood. He looked at Ben, who was ripping up table clothes. The doors burst open, and Georgie flew in.

"Daryl?" She saw T-Dog pressing his hands to Daryl's shoulder, and ran to him. "T-Dog, your face..."

"Is fine." T-Dog shrugged off Georgie's hand. "Daryl's shoulder is pretty bad though." Georgie walked around so she was facing Daryl.

"You need anything there?" Daryl looked up and was about to say something, but Glenn rushed out of the kitchen, clutching beer, wine and a first aid box. Georgie pulled the top off the beer and passed it to Daryl who gulped it down. Ben was now stood next to T-Dog, strips of make shift bandages in hand.

"We need to get the bullet out. Else it will get infected and that'll make life really difficult. Hopefully it hasn't shattered." He leaned around to face Daryl. "Daryl. This is going to hurt like a bitch. Try to stay still." He dosed his hands and a pair of long tweezers in the wine. T-Dog saw Daryl brace himself and grab onto Georgie's hand. Georgie put her free hand on his good shoulder and nodded at Ben.

There was no hesitation from Ben, he unceremoniously shoved the tweezers in. Immediately, Daryl pulled away, cursing and swearing. T-Dog grabbed him around the neck and pulled him back, trying to hold him still. After what must have seemed an age to Daryl, Ben pulled out an ugly black lump of metal. He showed it to T-Dog.

"Do you think that's the whole thing?" T-Dog looked at it. He wanted it to be, he didn't want to hurt his friend anymore, but he didn't want to leave anything inside Daryl and risk infection. He frowned, and inspected the lump carefully.

"Yeah...yeah looks like it." Ben sighed in relief and poured wine over Daryl's back. Glenn started to dose some of the bandages in wine too, and passed them to Ben, who wrapped them around Daryl's shoulder. T-Dog patted Daryl on his good shoulder. Daryl was silent now, although his face was covered in sweat. He was still holding onto Georgie's hand, and Georgie was wiping his brow with a scrap of table cloth. Daryl said something to her, and she frowned at him. Before T-Dog could find out what was being exchanged, Georgie had let go Daryl's hand, and was moving towards the hallway. Daryl took another long gulp of beer and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand staring T-Dog in the face.

"Imma speak to those two boys, an then, imma go outside, and imma kill those bastards." T-Dog groaned.

"Are you plain stupid? You're injured, how you gonna shoot your bow? We don't even know where to shoot, we don't even know when to stop shooting. We don't know how many of them there are...is this your mission, to get yourself killed?" Daryl scowled.

"Ya can't tell me, that ya happy to let them fuckin..." he seemed to struggle for words to express how he felt about the unknown people lurking in the woods outside. "...those godless living geeks out there live? They will come fur us all. People like em, they don't quit. They will take the women, the children, all of us. If we don't get em now, we're dead." His face was up close to T-Dogs now, almost as if he was ready to fight. T-Dog saw Glenn and Ben make as if to move them apart, but he wasn't worried. He could read Daryl much easier now. If Daryl wanted to fight him, he would have moved back, to get more power behind his attack. He was just angry and agitated now. And something else, something that T-Dog hadn't seen in him for a while. He was afraid. But what of? Daryl never feared for his own safety.

"We need a plan Daryl." Glenn spoke nervously. Daryl scoffed and whirled away from T-Dog. Now that the bullet was out of his wound, he barely seemed to notice his arm. "We need a way to draw them out and have them in the open, where we can see them. Why let them pick us off one by one in the woods?" Daryl was pacing now, and was about to say something in return, when Georgie re-entered the room, followed by the two brothers. On sight of a seemingly fully recovered Daryl, Harry looked totally relieved, whilst Matthew looked apprehensive. Daryl beckoned the two over to him, and Georgie walked to T-Dog.

"Let's clean up your face whilst Daryl does his fatherly bit." T-Dog looked at her in surprise. She grinned. "Don't say you haven't noticed. Out of character I know. But it's kind of cute, don't you think? Well, for Daryl." She took a piece of table cloth that hadn't been wrapped around Daryl, and soaked it in wine. She gently dabbed at the cut on T-Dog cheek. It stung and he winced away. She smiled knowingly. "Maybe if I got Miao to tend to it, it wouldn't hurt so much," she suggested. T-Dog smiled sheepishly. "Hey, it's no secret. You two make eyes at each other all the time. It's nice." She put down the cloth and examined his cut, placing her hands on either side of his face and turning it to get a better look "It looks clean. But get Miao to check it from time to time." As she lowered her hands, T-Dog thought he caught sight of Daryl glaring at him angrily, but the look went so quickly that he knew he'd imagined it. After all Daryl always looked angry. Then it hit him.

"Daryl's afraid for those boys isn't he?" Glenn's head shot up at this idea, and Ben looked disbelieving. But Georgie nodded.

"Terrified. He actually cares about them, would you believe." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Lucky gits. If you're gonna have anyone looking out for you, why not Daryl." She turned to T-Dog. "They won't leave until we're all dead. If you still want me to be on the...well, I'm ready to step up now." She stared into his eyes, and T-Dog saw the fire that he had seen the first time he had seen her in the woods. He nodded at her, and the pair of them walked into the hallway.


	25. Plan

The hallway was eerily quiet. Only Andrea, Adele, Dale and Rick stood there, all with weapons, staring out of the windows. T-Dog heard the door behind them open, and heard Daryl urging the two boys to go on upstairs. T-Dog felt, rather than saw, the boys leave without as much as a murmur of a word of protest. Daryl moved to Georgie's right, enclosing her in between himself and T-Dog. Dale turned to them from the window. The look on his face did not reassure T-Dog.

"We've been watching the window for a good fifteen minutes now, and those trees, they keep moving. I keep seeing figures...I don't know if I'm imagining it or...I don't even know how many people I'm seeing..."

"Six. Harry said there was six. Matthew agrees-countin' the one he killed." Georgie looked at Daryl in surprise.

"Matthew killed one of those...people?"

"Yeah." Adele answered for Daryl, never taking her eye off the woods. "It was a close up, but he did it alright. That's why he's been a bit cagey" Georgie bit her lip.

"Maybe we should arm him. Have him on look out with someone upstairs. If he can pull a trigger and he can keep his cool..."

"What, you got a plan now? You want to lead?" Rick's voice was strained, and even though he sounded angry, T-Dog knew he was hoping for Adele or Georgie to come through with some of the "training" the Governor had given them.

"I don't have a plan. But Adele and I have tactics and we can come up with something. I think." Georgie started as the restaurant doors opened, and Glenn and Ben walked through to the hall. Both had arms full of decanters with strips of table clothes stuck out of them. Inside, a few of them, a clear liquid swished around.

"What the hell..." T-Dog wondered if he was seeing right. "Are those meant to be Molotov cocktails?" Ben grinned with an element of sheepish pride.

"We haven't got much in the way of petrol, but vodka and spirits burn pretty well." T-Dog grinned as he remembered the vast supply of alcohol in his room. Adele nodded.

"Get some sugar from the kitchen and mix it in. It'll help the liquid to stick better. Use some of the bloody bandages for wick, blood has the same effect." T-Dog stared at her.

"Err..how do you know this stuff?"

"You never got bored and googled things at work?"

"Yeah, but..." Georgie interrupted them both.

"We need to retreat upstairs. There's only this entrance and the fire exit, and the fire exit only opens from indoors. Down here, there are multiple exits and entrances to cover, we'll be spread too thin." Everyone nodded their agreement and made their way up the stairs, Rick and Andrea last, eyes focused on the French windows. As T-Dog retreated up the stairs, he caught a glimpse of a movement outside. A lean figure was skulking in the woods. The way it moved reminded T-Dog of a predator, waiting for it's prey to make a mistake so it could pounce. The thought made him shudder and he moved upstairs.

As soon as he entered his room, Miao rushed to him and threw her arms around him.

"Is it true? Are there really cannibals out there?" Behind her, Sophie and Carl were huddled under Maggie's arms, fear in their wide eyes. Sophie ran to Georgie, Carl to his father. T-Dog could hear Georgie whispering to Sophie, he imagined she was trying to comfort her. No small feat, seeing as Georgie must still be raw from grief herself. T-Dog wrapped his arms around Miao, and found himself vowing that the people outside would have to rip him limb from limb (which given what Georgie and Matthew seemed to know they would) before they laid one finger on Miao. He moved towards the couch and sat her down next to Dale. He looked around, it seemed everyone was in his room, waiting to be told what to do. Adele and Rick swept the mess of clothes and empty bottles off the coffee table and took charge.

"Right." Adele picked up a small pillow. "This is us in the hotel." Everyone gathered around to watch. "Currently, we're surrounded by we assume at least six of those...people out there. They seem to be armed and given the fact that they killed Katie, and shot at Georgie, Matthew, Daryl and T-Dog without provocation, we can only assume that they are hostile. So, we need to defend ourselves." She looked up at Rick. "And we need to be ruthless." T-Dg breathed in. Adele's meaning was perfectly clear. The people outside were out to kill. So they needed to be ready to kill too. He looked around. Daryl and Georgie looked resolute, as did Andrea. The rest of them, Rick included, looked less sure. Adele carried on with her analysis.

"I imagine that they were working on the element of surprise. From what we've seen, their plan was to pick us off one by one. Let us assume that wild animals or walkers were getting the better of us. But now that we know that they're out there-and they know we know-they've gone onto plan B. Which seems to be to storm the hotel and take as many of us as they can.

Now the way I see it, we have a few advantages. We have a decent supply of ammunition-bullets, guns and now apparently fire." Here she glanced at Ben and Glenn, who were busy emptying vodka and sugar into bottles and shaking them up to mix them. "We have the strong hold here, in the hotel, with several points from which we can spy and shoot. And the biggest one is that they are probably underestimating us right now. So far, they've only seen us run and the men hunt. And as far as they know, one of us is injured. So they're probably thinking that there are only two real threats to them and that everyone else is a woman, a child or incapable of fighting. I'm sorry sweaty but it's true." This last comment was aimed at Ben, who shrugged.

"So what you're saying is, that we have the element of surprise?" Rick looked hopeful.

"In that respect yes." Adele looked around the room. "Daryl, we can't risk you aggravating your arm any further, so the crossbow is out. But how are you with a shot gun" Daryl looked at Adele as if she had asked him if he could breath in and out. "I'll take that as a confident and able. Then we obviously have Rick and T-Dog as the two they're expecting to fight. Then there's me, Georgie, Dale and Andrea as good shots. Glenn and Miao aren't bad either. Then of course, there's Matthew and the rest of the kids..."

"No way is Carl getting involved in this. Sophie either." Rick spoke abruptly. "They are too young to be fighting, it's too dangerous. NO Carl, I've made my decision and that's final."

"You're not my dad." Sophie spoke angrily. "If Georgie and Adele think I can do it, I can do it."

"I'm overruling them." Rick turned to Georgie who had moved forward to protest. "No. They stay in a room, safe, away from this."

"They'll have to fight one day Rick, you can't keep them from this world forever." T-Dog was surprised at Dale's words.

"I know Dale. But it's not going to be at the age of eight. They go with Maggie and they sit in a room and they are safe." He looked at Harry and Matthew. "I'm guessing even if I tried to put my foot down..."

"Ain't up to you." Daryl's eyes narrowed. "They're safer with gun's in their hands an they're old enough to use them." Rick didn't look happy about this outcome, but it was obvious that Daryl wasn't going to budge.

"So I guess that leaves me and Maggie on babysitting duty?" Ben looked less than happy at the prospect. But Georgie seemed to have caught on to Adele's idea.

"Brilliant. You want to play mind games with them." She came to the coffee table and knelt down, reaching for a few empty bottles. She positioned some around the pillow, some on it. She looked up at Adele, but Adele motioned her to carry on.

"Adele's idea is simple. It allows us to make maximum damage with minimum effort. The idea is, to make your enemy think you're stronger than you are. They panic, and you are left with the control. With me so far?

So, how do we make these guys panic? Simple. We make them think that even our 'weak links' are formidable opponents. If they think they've underestimated the weakest of us, what will they think of the ones they thought they had to worry about before? So they get sloppy. And then we can make our real move."

T-Dog looked around. Many of the others looked as uneasy as he felt.

"I hope you're not suggesting that we send the kids out to fight first and then follow them." Dale looked worried.

"Usually yes. In the complex, the Governor taught us not to concern ourselves too much with the... "lesser beings safety". But here, we have an advantage. We can create the illusion of a one shot army." Adele looked around at their disbelieving faces. "We have enough good shots to pair up with what they perceive as a weaker element, plus two covering the stairs. We sit at a vantage point and wait. When we see one of them, the sharp shot shoots. When they look up, they catch a glimpse of our weaker element. Then they begin to crap themselves. They become unorganised. Usually, that's when they think of rushing the building. And then..." She motioned towards the glass bottles full of clear liquid.

The group looked around at each other. Dale spoke first.

"This is the only plan we have, short of going out there and blasting blindly into the trees. At least we'll be inside."

"How can you be sure that they'll come out?" Maggie looked uncertain. "How do you know they won't just wait in the tree for us?"

"Oh they'll come." Adele looked grim.

"They'll get hungry."

**Sorry for making it a bit drawn out. There will be gun fire soon. Promise **


	26. Hostage

**Dale**

Dale had thought himself use to being in tense situations. Although his eyesight was failing him a little in his old age, he had been a keen-and good-marksman since the age of 15. This had led to him continually being placed on watch, looking out for trouble, generally protecting the group. He'd sat on top of his RV in Atlanta; he'd played look out at the complex, both times waiting for walkers. But here, in the hotel, looking into the woods, he could feel his nerves dissolving. He couldn't pinpoint what was making him so uneasy, indeed, it wasn't just one thing.

There was the fact that he couldn't actually see what was out there, even though it was still early evening and so it was still relatively light. The woods outside the hotel, once picturesque seemed sinister and foreboding. His mind seemed to be continually playing tricks on him. More than once in the past hour, he'd seen shadowy figures moving in the trees, waiting for someone to make a move. He could feel invisible eyes staring at him from the branches, scrutinising him and his gun. He wasn't the only one either. Glenn and Andrea were watching the outside just as intently as he was. Glenn kept looking at Dale as if to say '_did you see that?_'

Worse than what he saw, was what he heard. Rustling in the trees, even though not a breath of wind had blown. Twigs snapping. And irregular bursts of manic laughter, that exploded from unseen mouths and was stifled just as quickly. The laughing was the most unnerving thing. It reminded Dale of being on safari, a few years before he and Erma had retired for good. They had seen a pack of lions feasting on the remains of a zebra carcass. Hovering around the pack were a pack of Hyenas, waiting for them to finish so they could feast on the remains. Every now and then, they let out a bray of laughter that chilled Dale to the bone. The noises outside were worse, if only because Dale knew that the things that made them would kill them.

"We've been here for an hour." Glenn broke the silence with a nervous whisper. "Why haven't they done anything? Shouldn't we do something?" Before Dale could answer, Andrea spoke.

"No. If Adele's right, they'll lose their patience first. Remember, we're not hungry. It's a mind game." She glanced at Dale. Unlike him and Glenn, who occasionally peered around the corner of the window, to show the people outside their faces, Andrea was hidden underneath the window, ready to shoot as Glenn if need be. Glenn rolled his shoulders in an attempt to loosen them.

"Seems like they're as patient as we are. And not as scared." He wiped his forehead, where beads of nervous sweat had formed. Before Andrea could reply, Dale spotted a movement. He held a hand up for silence, and edged a little closer to the window.

A man had moved from the trees, shotgun in hand. He looked behind him and beckoned to the trees. Another two men and a woman, all armed, walked out of the bushes. All of them were filthy, hair matted clothes ripped. They looked feral and moved in an almost cat like way. Dale noticed that one of the men's hands shook ever so slightly. All of them had blood splattered on their clothes, the lead man more than the rest. Dale was willing to bet it was human blood. They slowly approached the hotel, faces fixed on the French doors.

Glenn let out a small gasp. It wasn't loud, but it was enough to make the people below stop and look up. The woman raised her gun and shot at the window. The shot just missed Glenn's face by a matter of millimetres. Glenn reeled back in shock. Dale raised his gun and aimed. If he had been uncertain before, he knew now that these people wanted them dead.

His aim was true and one of the men slumped to his knees, having been hit between the eyes. Another shot rang from the window to his left-Miao or Georgie-and another man fell, clutching his neck. Dale could see Andrea taking aim, but the woman and man had already retreated hastily back to the woods. Dale heard the door behind him open and Adele's voice.

"I'm going outside to take care of the bodies. Andrea, can you come down and cover me?" Andrea stood up, and offered Dale a small smile before she left the room. Dale felt a surge of love for her as she left the room.

"What are they going to do?" Glenn glanced at Dale.

"Eyes front and centre Glenn." Dale watched the area downstairs. After an agonising pause, he saw Adele walking purposefully out to the two bodies, samurai sword in hand. He couldn't see Andrea anywhere. Adele leant over the two bodies, one still, one still moving. With two quick strokes, she decapitated each man, and thrust the sword through each head to prevent the bodies coming back. She turned and looked up at the windows. As she opened her mouth to say something, Dale heard Andrea scream.

"GET DOWN!"

Dale knew that Adele had to have moved with the speed of light to have avoided the bullet that was fired from the woods, but she seemed to move in slow motion. An inhuman shriek erupted from the trees, and the woman ran towards her, a knife raised in her hand, followed by another man. A hail of gunfire erupted from the hotel, and both hunters went down. Adele stayed crouched down, watching the trees. She started to inch towards the nearest body, the woman's, and crouched over it. Dale couldn't see what she was doing, and it made him nervous. After a moment, she moved backwards towards the hotel, focused on the woods. When Dale heard the French doors close, he let out the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding.

The door opened behind him, and Andrea walked in again. She looked more tense then he had ever seen her, with a determination on her face that made her look like a warrior princess. Even in the middle of the standoff, Dale found himself wondering what someone as alive as her was doing with someone so much older than her.

"What happened? Are they all dead? Can we stop now?" Glenn sounded hopeful.

"Four dead. Still at least two out there." Andrea walked to the window, gun raised, honing in on the woods outside. "Adele's talking to Rick and T-Dog. I just sent Georgie out as well. We'll know what to do soon enough." She looked at Dale. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Dale nodded. "Should it have been that easy?" Andrea shock her head.

"Maybe I'm just use to things being hard but...I don't know..." Dale knew what she meant. Every time things had seemed to go well for the group, something happened to show them how they shouldn't take anything for granted. He wanted to be positive, but there were still at least two people out there if Matthew was right. He wouldn't rest easy until he knew where those people were. He sighed, shifted his weight and continued to watch the back of the hotel, forcing himself to put all his attention on the woods, watching for any movement, any sound.

Without warning, there was a smashing sound from downstairs. Glenn and Andrea swore simultaneously.

"They can't have gotten in," Andrea strained her eyes outside, "we'd have seen them."

"They could have broken the front door down." Dale made a move for the corridor. "We assumed they'd come in around back, where we've been covering them." He flung open the door, and saw Rick, T-Dog and Adele moving down the stairs. Georgie looked ready to follow them, but when she heard Dale she turned and held her hand out.

"Don't follow them down. Cover the stairs with me, remember this is the only way up, just like we said." Dale moved to the top of the stairs, where he could hear gunshots and cursing. Daryl, Matthew and Andrea had come out of their rooms and were stood out in the hallway, ready to assist. Dale waved at Matthew, only thirteen years old for Christ's sake, to go back into his room. In return, Matthew gave him a defiant stare that was worryingly close to Daryl's. Dale groaned and fixed his gaze back on the stairs.

"GEORGIE! I NEED BACK UP!" Adele's voice came from below, panic stricken and frantic. Georgie all but leapt down the stairs, closely followed by Andrea and Daryl. Dale managed to grab Matthew on his way past.

"We guard the stairs, stop anyone from getting up here." Matthew didn't struggle, but pointed his gun down the stairs. More smashing, more cursing, more shooting of firearms. Then to his horror, Dale could hear individual voices. Daryl's voice was loudest, then Andreas. They seemed to be fighting, arguing over something. Adele and Georgie's voices were coming up the stairs. He couldn't hear T-Dog or Rick.

"What's going on Dale?" Matthew was staying where he was, for which Dale was grateful. He wasn't quite a mini Daryl yet.

"I don't know." Dale watched the three shadows coming up the stairs. One was struggling violently. As the figures came around the corner, he saw with shock, that one was a stranger, held firmly by Georgie and Adele. The man looked similar to the ones that had been outside previously. Matthew shrank behind Dale as he came into view.

"Open that door Dale." Adele snarled the words out. Dale obeyed, opening the closest unoccupied room and the girls marched the man inside.

"What's happened? Daryl, what's..." Dale's words were lost on Daryl, who stormed past him into the room. Dale whirled round to face Andrea who was stood at the top of the stairs almost in shock. She looked at Dale as if she was seeing him for the first time. Moving towards him, she wrapped her arms around him burying her face in his shoulder.

"There were four of them...they hid and ambushed us...one knocked out T-Dog...they carried him away, the other put a gun to Rick's head. Adele tried to shot, but they used them as shields. That's when she shouted for us...Georgie and Adele have one of them...Daryl wanted to go after them, but we don't know where they are." She lifted her face from Dales shoulder and looked at him. Dale could see how afraid she was.

"They've got Rick and T-Dog. They could be chopping them up right now and we can't do anything."


	27. Crossingaline

**Adele**

With one arm, Adele wiped the blood from her lip, which had split when one of the men had swung the butt of his shot gun at her. Swiftly she threw their prisoner into the desk chair of the room and removed her belt from her trousers, tying one of his wrists to the arm rest. Georgie did the same, then disappeared into the bedroom. Adele heard a ripping sound, and she emerged with long strips of bed sheets, which she used to tie the man's chest and legs to the chair.

The man was still breathing shallowly, as a result of the impressive punch Daryl had landed to his solar plexus. Adele had lost no time in dragging the man to the spare room whilst he was incapacitated, before he could fight back. T-Dog and Rick had been taken, T-Dog unconscious, Rick with a gun to his head. Daryl had wanted to go straight after them, to save his friend, but Adele had held him back, afraid that if they attempted to chase them, they would kill the pair straight away. Their best bet now, was to get the location out of the one they had and get it fast.

Georgie stepped back and regarded him with a look of fear and disgust. The man's skin was yellow and mottled. His eyes were bloodshot and they moved from Georgie to Adele, looking at them in a way that unsettled Adele almost as much as the Governor had. His nose was crooked, as if it had been broken a few times, and when he leered at them, Adele could see that a few of his teeth were broken. Her revulsion must have shown on her face, because he laughed, an unnatural, sinister cackle that made the hairs on the back of Adele's arms stand on end.

"Pretty, pretty, pretty..." he hissed. He licked his lips and made a clicking noise at them. Worried about your friends? Don't worry, my friends will take good care of them." He leaned forward, lowering his voice, almost as if he was taking them into his confidence. "You'll never find them." Georgie looked at Adele and nodded. She turned to Daryl, who had been stood by the door, glaring at the man. Even from here, Adele could see he was shaking with rage. She was impressed he'd managed to contain himself at all. Georgie murmured into Daryl's ear. Daryl looked confused.

"What are ya gonna do?" Georgie looked at Adele.

"Just...it's best you don't know." Daryl looked at the two girls in confusion, but didn't ask anymore questions. He opened the door and moved out. Adele took a deep breath and against all her natural instincts, she walked up to the man, and crouched down in front of him. She wished she didn't have to get closer, at these closer quarters, she could smell the metallic tang of blood from his clothes, which made her want to retch. She took a moment to compose herself, to wipe all emotion from her face. She stared into the man's face, waiting for him to register that she wasn't scared of him-or that she didn't appear to be.

"We will find them. Because you're going to tell us where your friends have taken them." The man kept smirking at her. Adele gazed back at him. She'd known from the moment she and Georgie had tied him to the chair what they were going to do, and it repulsed her. She and Georgie had learnt a lot of dubious skills at the complex, but none as inhuman as what they were about to do. She hoped against hope that this man would somehow sense how serious a situation he was in, and give up the information she wanted.

But that wasn't to be the case. A glob of spit landed on her cheek and the man's laugh echoed through the room again, like a jackal. Adele fought the instinct to flinch away, or to squeal in disgust. Keeping her face neutral, she wiped her face with her jacket. She looked the man in the eye, feeling her stomach twist and churn. Before she could speak, the door opened, and Daryl walked in. Adele kept her gaze on the man, and he on her. She could hear Daryl and Georgie discussing something, Georgie's voice, low, even, emotionless, just as Adele was forcing herself to feel. Daryl's voice was as unsure and worried as Adele had ever heard it. It surprised Adele that he seemed to know Georgie well enough to pick up that something wasn't right. But whatever he wanted to know, Georgie wasn't telling him, and Adele heard the door close again, sensed rather than felt Georgie moving towards the chair. Moving aside, she made space for her friend in front of the man.

Georgie was holding a holdall that clinked when she moved. She set it down on the floor, and knelt beside it. Slowly, she started to empty it's contents, holding each one up to the man's face, and then laying it on the floor in front of him.

Whatever Daryl's misgivings had been, he had worked fast, and gotten a good collection. Of course, there were all of Georgie's hunting knives that she had picked up from the cabins, and Adele's samurai sword, still covered in blood from the beheadings. Somehow, he had managed to empty the kitchen too. A Cleaver, a chefs knife, a butchers knife and a few she didn't know the names of. The bag must have been used by the caretaker to carry his tools around, as Georgie produced a hammer, hacksaw and a vicious looking pair of bolt cutters. When she had finished, she looked up at the man's face. Adele was pleased to see he had lost the smirk, and was looking uncertain. She leaned in again, and asked him.

"Where have your friends taken our friends?" The man continued to look at the weapons on the floor, seemingly thinking things through. He looked at Georgie then at Adele. The smirk was back on his face.

"Neither of you have the guts." Adele groaned inwardly. "Your friends are dead meat." Georgie sighed resignedly and picked up a short dagger, cutting up the man's sleeve, exposing more dirty flesh on his arm. Adele chose a similar knife, with a nasty looking serrated blade. She paused briefly, praying that whatever deity was looking over them, they would forgive her. She positioned the blade over the man's right hand. Georgie placed hers over the left.

"If they are, they're better off then you'll be if you keep holding out on us. Last chance." The man rolled his eyes. Adele wondered why people thought that she and Georgie were incapable of inflicting pain? Was it because they were young and female? Was there something in their faces that screamed innocence? Before the dead had started to walk, she would have never have been able to do anything like this. Why didn't people realise things had changed? And they had had to change with the times. Adapt or die.

Both girls plunged the knives into the man's hands, into the chair arms, twisting so they took root and anchored his hands to the chair.

His screams echoed through the room.


	28. Rescue

**Daryl**

When the first screams came from inside the room, Daryl's first thought was that the beer bellied skunk that they had dragged in, had somehow gotten lose and was letting rip on one of the girls. It only took him a split second to register that the screaming was coming from a man, and that his voice was the only one he could hear. He put an arm out to restrain Dale, who had placed his hand on the door handle in alarm.

"What're you doing? Can't you hear that...?" Daryl didn't respond. He had an idea of what was happening in the room, and he wasn't about to stop it. Whatever the girls were doing, it probably wasn't painful enough in his opinion. He placed his ear to the door and tried to make out what was being said, but it was almost impossible to hear the words, only the shrieks and screams. Dale went for the door handle again.

"This is insane, Daryl. They're torturing him, they're taking it too far!" Daryl looked at the old man in disbelief.

"If ya got any better ideas on how ta find out where they've taken T-Dog an Rick, let's hear em old man." Dale didn't say anything. Daryl scowled and went back to listening at the door. He didn't care about what was right or wrong at this point. He didn't care if the old man thought that what Georgie and Adele were doing was cruel or whatever bull he came up with. As long as they found out where T-Dog was, they could cut the bastards balls off with a pair of pliers as far as he was concerned.

Daryl hadn't counted on making friends with anyone in the camp when he had first arrived with Merle, however long ago it had been. As soon as he had seen T-Dog, Andrea, Amy, Morales and his family, he knew he couldn't afford to make friends if he wanted to keep Merle under control. Just keeping his comments about using dark meat for bait, and steering him away from harassing the women took up half Daryl's time. But of course, Merles attitude was soon picked up by the rest of the camp and Daryl was tainted by association. The Dixon brothers were left mainly to themselves, tolerated because Daryl could hunt and bring in food for the camp. But socialising was off the cards. Once, Morales had struck up a conversation with Daryl about where he'd learnt to shoot. Daryl wasn't much of a conversationalist, but Morales was easy to talk to. That was, until he'd spotted Merle watching them, a face like thunder. Daryl had abruptly ended the conversation, leaving Morales in no doubt that he wasn't interested in speaking to him anymore. That hadn't stopped Merle trying to land a few flying punches to his face later that evening.

When Merle had been left on the roof in Atlanta, Daryl had been angry, but also on some level, relieved that he wasn't going to have to babysit his brother anymore. Then, he'd felt guilty for feeling that way, and that had added into his anger, making him hate everyone even more. But, that feeling had quickly passed, and he had gotten use to just how easy life was without Merle. Well, as easy as life got with the dead walking around. But he was still alone.

When Georgie and T-Dog had come back for him at the complex, when they had told him they did it because they were family, Daryl had at first felt a sense of obligation, that he had to look out for them both because they had saved him. The more time he had spent with the pair of them however, the more he'd actually liked and respected them. And now T-Dog was in danger, and Daryl was determined to go after him. Not because he felt he had to, but because he wanted to. And if Georgie needed to cross a few lines to enable him to do so, he would step back and let her do it.

Suddenly, the room went silent. Daryl heard two sets of footsteps coming towards the door. They were heavy, slow, almost weary. He stepped back from the door, and felt, rather than saw, Dale and Andrea do the same. The door opened, and Adele and then Georgie came into the hallway. Andrea took a sharp intake of breath. Both girls were carrying knives, caked in blood. Daryl didn't have to think hard to guess whose. Blood was splattered over their clothes, some on Georgie's face. She saw Daryl looking and almost self consciously used the sleeve of her shirt to attempt to wipe her face.

"Did you learn anything?" Dale's voice dripped with disapproval. Daryl bristled with annoyance. Did the old man think that being nice would work on the nut job that was tied up in the room? Adele nodded.

"He gave us a location, and directions on how to get there." Dale didn't look convinced.

"And you believe him? People will say anything to stop people hurting them." Daryl glared at Dale. Before he could give him a piece of his mind, Georgie spoke. Her voice was quieter than usual, but her tone was firm.

"We told him if it wasn't the right place, we'd come back and spend another ten minutes with him. It's the right place Dale."

"So he's still alive?" Dale went to open the door, but Adele blocked it from him.

"Don't go in there. No-one is to go in there until we get back." Dale looked furious.

"That is a human life in there. No matter what he's done, you can't stoop to his level, you can't..." he motioned at the knives in the girls hands. " You can't torture and mutilate. He could need medical attention, he could bleed to death..."

"Trust me," Adele interrupted the old man. "He won't." She lowered her voice, glancing over Dale's shoulder, where Carl and Glenn were watching them anxiously. "Tell you what Dale, whilst you agonise over our moral conduct, think about Rick and T-Dog being hacked apart bit by bit and eaten whilst they're still alive. Because that's how they prevent being infected by the disease. He told us." She leaned back and motioned to Georgie as they moved down the stairs. Daryl paused just long enough get satisfaction from the look of shock on Dales face and then followed them down.

"Daryl!" Daryl gave a inwards groan as he heard the Chinaman call his name. He stopped halfway down the stairs and turned to see Glenn half jog towards him.

"You're not going with them?" Daryl snorted

"Hell I'm not. T-Dog's out there. He'd come for me, I'm goin' fur him." Glenn looked horrified.

"But, your shoulder...you can't"

"Ta hell with my shoulder." Daryl moved down the stairs, where Georgie and Adele were cleaning off their knives with pieces of table cloth from the restaurant.

"Daryl." Glenn ran down the stairs and grabbed Daryl's good shoulder. "You're better with this then I am." He handed over the shotgun and ammunition he had been using. "It might be better on your shoulder too." Daryl looked down at the gun and then back at Glenn.

"Thanks Chinaman."

"Still Korean."

As Daryl entered the reception area with the shot gun slung over his good shoulder, both girls looked up at him.

"There is no way..." Adele started, but Georgie put her hand up to quieten her.

"Don't waste your breath." She looked at Daryl. "He'll come whether we say he can or not. How's the shoulder?" Daryl grunted and shrugged it, making an effort to hide the burning pain in his shoulder. Georgie was right, he would be going. Whether he was with them, or following them at a distance. Adele sighed and stood up.

"That...man, said they were a little way into the forest, to the left. About fifteen minutes." Daryl grimaced. So close and none of them had noticed. "He said Rick and T-Dog would still be alive. But..." She trailed off, but her meaning was clear. What state the two would be in was debatable. He loaded the shot gun.

"Well. What the hell we waitin' for? Let's go."


	29. RescueII

**Ok so I'm trying to mix up the comic storyline AND the TV show, so I have to warn you all that there could be some spoilers for the show coming up. To be fair, I probably should have said that at the start of the story, but oh well...now you know. **

The three of them walked into the forest, Daryl carrying the shotgun, Georgie with her crossbow and a knife and Adele carrying her knife and samurai sword. They formed a triangle formation, Adele up front, Daryl to her right, Georgie on her left. They walked in silence, listening for any sound, any movement.

Suddenly, cutting through the darkness like a knife, a scream echoed through the woods. Adele froze.

"That was Rick." She started to move forward, but stopped herself. Daryl watched her, waiting for instructions, or a plan. For a moment, she stood stock still, but them she shock herself into action. She motioned for the others to stay put and crept forward, disappearing into the shadows. Daryl looked at Georgie. Her eyes were focused straight ahead at the spot where Adele had disappeared. She didn't glance at him to communicate anything like she usually did: that she was nervous, confident, that she had his back. She was actively ignoring making eye contact with him, and that made him nervous. He didn't know why, he had managed to hunt well enough without her before, but she was a good partner and he felt...not safer but more secure with her watching his back. If something was up, she needed to snap out of it and be focused until they had finished what they had come out to do. Whatever that was.

"Hey. Hey!" He hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "Hey Georgie..."

"Shh!" She held one finger up to silence him and made a slight movement forward to listen. "Go right!" Daryl moved swiftly and silently behind a tree, Georgie behind one across from him. She still didn't look at him, watching the space in front, holding up fingers to tell him when to move out. One. Two. Three.

The pair of them leapt out, weapons raised, and came face to face with Adele.

"Jesus!" She swore in a hushed voice. "Get that out of my face Daryl!" Her voice had a slight tremor to it, and her face was pale. Daryl swore inwardly. If Adele was shaken, then the situation was bad.

"What's up?" Georgie placed a hand on her friends shoulder. Adele looked at her, and Georgie took a sharp intake of breath. "Is it bad?" Adele wiped her arm across her forehead.

"There were only three of them. They have T-Dog tied up and gagged. He's fine, he's conscious. Kicking up hell and struggling."

"Take more than a yella mutt ta knock T-Dog on his ass fur long." Daryl looked at Georgie for her agreement. She nodded, but still avoided looking at him, keeping her hand on Adele's shoulder.

"If T-Dog's ok, why do you look...is Rick..?" Adele swallowed.

"Unconscious, but he seems to be breathing. And...oh God." She placed the back of her hand to her mouth and swallowed. "I don't know why I'm...I've seen worse things under the Governor..." She looked down, composing herself. Daryl wondered if she was about to hurl. "They cut his hand off. That's what the screaming was. When I got there...they were roasting it on a fire...I could smell burnt flesh...I think they cauterised his wound..." She looked up at them both. "If we don't get there soon, he could die of infection, blood loss, or they could just eat him piece by piece. Both of them."

Daryl had heard of some fucked up things since the start of whatever the hell had happened to the world. But this was the sickest, most messed up pile of shit he had encountered. Here Adele was, calm, collected, in her right mind, telling them that there were cannibals out there. People eating people-LIVING people eating other living people. He cast his mind back to what Harry had said, and felt a cold fury taking over him. It wasn't like when he had been in the complex and seen Adele and Georgie being beaten on by a pack of spineless, dickless pussies; it wasn't like the blind rage he felt when he lost his temper. This was cold. This wasn't wanting to storm in and punch everything he saw; this was wanting to take his time, to hurt in the most calculated way possible. He was surprised that he could be so furiously angry and yet so completely calm. He looked at his hands, clenched and unclenched them. He could still take out the bastard who had shot him in the shoulder. The throbbing pain was still intense, but he could ignore it. He wondered if the man who had killed Harry and Matthew's father and Uncle was there. What about the man who had shot Katie and taken aim at Georgie? Would he be able to take them all out? Were they already dead?

"Daryl?" Adele broke into his thoughts. "Daryl are you listening? We go to the clearing, we scale a tree each, we take one man out each, sniper style. Quick, clean, fast. Don't shoot unless all three men are there. We don't want a shot to warn anyone who's missing. Once all three men are there, go for whoever is closest to you." Daryl nodded at her. He had no such intent of making it easy for his mark. He knew where to hit a man to incapacitate them, but not kill them. Adele and Georgie could do what they wanted; he had vengeance on his mind.

"Ok, move in a pincher motion, I'll go straight ahead, Daryl right, Georgie left. Make it fast, whilst they're...whilst they're eating." As soon as she had spoken those words, Adele disappeared into the inky gloom. Daryl took one last look at Georgie before he made his move, and froze. He'd caught a glimpse of her face before she turned her back. It was obvious now why she had avoided looking at him-her anger was written all over her face. A venomous, murderous rage, which had turned her usually warm brown eyes frosty and empty, like two empty holes in her face. Before Daryl could say anything, she too had melted into the trees.

Daryl made his move, anger and foreboding battling it out in his gut. It didn't take long for him to find the clearing, or a decent tree to scale. He clambered up it, soundlessly like a monkey, finding a branch to settle on and load his gun. Rolling up the sleeves of the shirt he'd thrown on before leaving the hotel, he took in the scene on the floor below.

Only two of the cannibals were in the clearing, sitting next a fire, occasionally poking it with a stick. Both were dirty, wearing ragged clothes, with greasy hair and blotchy complexions. Obviously human flesh was no good for the skin. Daryl gritted his teeth as one of the men examined the shape hanging over the fire. He recognised it instantly, having picked one off the roof in Atlanta. A human hand, blackened and shrivelled, but still a hand. The man, poked it much the same way as Daryl would poke a rabbit, then drew his hand back, placing his fingers in his mouth. Daryl fought the tide of vomit that threatened to over take him, and focused instead on his anger. The man rose and walked over to a shape by the tree opposite him, close to where he assumed Georgie was and knelt in front of it. He started to laugh, the same unnatural sound that the freak in the hotel room made, and slapped the shape a few times around the face. Almost immediately, he shot backwards, from a violent kick to the stomach. Whilst the man still sitting by the fire laughed, Daryl got a good look at the shape.

T-Dog, his head covered in blood, gagged and tied up was leaning forward, as if he was trying to get at the man. "Man's found his fire" Daryl thought to himself impressed. The floored man, scrabbled around on the floor, searching for something. Before he found it, there was movement from the trees behind him. Daryl raised his gun. This was it. The third man would enter, and they could deal with the fuckers. He decided to take the one by the fire. Rules were rules, and after all, one piece of maggot scum was as good as another.

Then he heard a child's voice, raised in fear and pain.

"Holy shit," he muttered. "This can't be happenin'."

The third man, taller, broader shouldered had walked into the clearing. In front of him, he marched Carl Grimes, his arms pinned up behind his back. When he got close to the men, he hoisted Carl up into his arms, so their heads were level. Carl was whimpering softly. Daryl could now hear the vehement muffled shouting's of T-Dog as he recognised who the man was carrying. Daryl wondered why Rick wasn't making more noise, and then remembered he was unconscious.

"Goddammit kid. Why can't ya jus stay at home?" Daryl released his finger from the trigger and watched as the man slowly walked around the clearing. The absence of shots from Georgie or Adele suggested that they were as shocked as he was. This fucked up the whole plan. The man carrying Carl started to speak, his voice clear, soft, cajoling,

"Now I don't for a moment believe that this child found his way to us all alone. I think he followed someone more experienced. And I think that that someone, or someones, are very, very close." The two men who had been in the clearing looked around, suddenly alert, like two guard dogs who had heard a sound. Their leader carried on, pulling a pistol out of his pocket and placing it to Carl's temple. He was still walking around the edges of the clearing, looking into the bushes as if he expected to see someone staring back at him.

"Now, you have a few choices here. You can try to be heroes and shoot me in the head, which is what I expect you came here to do. But," here he hoisted Carl up on his arm, and pushed his head closer to his with the barrel of the gun, "can you hit me and not the child? You can do the logical thing and give yourself up. Then I'll let the child go, in exchange for you." He came to a stop, just before the tree Daryl was in. Daryl forced himself to freeze. He was wearing his customary brown clothing, but he couldn't be sure if the man looked up he wouldn't spot him.

"Of course, you could always just leave now. I'll kill the child anyway. Children's flesh is so much tenderer than adults. And then, I'll come after the rest of you. Matthew and Harry first. We have so much to catch up on. And I'm dying to know if I'll be able to taste a family resemblance."

As the man said these last few words, he walked right under the tree that Daryl was in, and turned so he was facing into the clearing. The ice fury that had gripped him in the woods was now almost choking Daryl. The man's threats against the two boys was the last straw. Daryl knew exactly who he was going after. And he knew how he was going to do it.

In one smooth motion, Daryl leapt out of the tree and down onto the back of the man below. The force of his weight took the man totally by surprise, and he dropped the gun he was holding to Carls head. He landed hap hazardly on the floor, half trapping one of Carl's legs underneath his body. As Daryl struck the back of his head with the butt of his shotgun, he was aware of two shots ringing out and the thud of two bodies hitting the floor. He didn't look up to see what had happened-he knew well enough what had happened. Georgie and Adele had taken the opportunity given to them and taken their shots. Well, now he was taking his. He grabbed the man by the scruff of his filthy collar and started to drag him into the woods.

"Daryl." Daryl looked down at Carl, whose eyes were red rimmed.

"Go an sit with Adele an Georgie. Ya Daddy's hurt bad. He needs ya. Tell 'em...I'll make my own way back." Before Carl could say anything else, Daryl melted into the darkness, taking the limp body with him.

**Sorry for all the swears, but let's face it, it's Daryl's POV. I know this is a lot of Daryl right now, we will get back to other characters soon. **


	30. CrossingalineII

Daryl knelt down in front of the man waiting for his eyes to open, with a patience he did know he had. He had tied his hands behind his back, executioner style and had propped him up against the tree. Close up, the man was even uglier than he had been when Daryl had been in the tree, same mottled skin, same fine veins running across his nose. His hands had been covered in blood, dried into the nail beds and under them. Daryl had a feeling that he was the one who had cut Ricks hand off.

"C'mon ya son ofa bitch." Daryl pulled his hunting knife out of his trousers and lay it in front of him. He didn't have as impressive an array of weapons as Adele and Georgie, but he bet he could find some good uses for his one knife. He reached out and slapped the man around the face. "Wake up." The man groaned, and shook his head. Daryl leant forward, bringing his face closer to the semi conscious man. He slapped him again, harder. The man swore and his eyes flickered open and shut. Picking up the knife, Daryl pointed the tip of the blade into the man's face, so that it was the first thing that he would see.

"What do you think you'll achieve?" Daryl started at the sound of the man's voice. It was too calm, too controlled. It wasn't full of fear, like he wanted. But it would be soon.

"Nothin'." Daryl brought the knife closer to his face. "I jus wanna hear ya squeal like th fuckin pig ya are." The man curled his lip and laughed.

"Go ahead." Daryl started. He hadn't been expecting that. "You think you're so much better than me. You think I'm some sort of monster. But I only did what I had to do to survive. Why are you doing this?"

Daryl glowered at him. "Because you're a piece of fucking shit." He plunged the knife into the side of the man's nose and dug in deep. With a quick jerk, he pulled the man's nose off his face. Pieces of skin and sinew hung ribbon like from his face, exposing the yellow cartilage. The man screamed in agony and a grim smile started to spread across Daryl's face. That was more like it. He tossed the nose aside and wondered where to cut next.

In his mind, the man in front of him was responsible for everything-or may as well have been. He had killed Matthew and Harry's dad; he had shot Carol; he had shot Katie; he had tried to shot Georgie; he had tried to kill Rick and T-Dog. And Daryl was gonna take his time making sure he got what was coming to him. He waited for the man's screams to subside, and listened as he started to breath heavily through his mouth, the blood choking his ruined nasal passage. He placed the tip of the blade into the top of the man's thigh and started to press down, so that the knife entered his leg slowly, and twisted it to widen the hole.

"Daryl."

Daryl looked up to see Georgie coming towards him. She knelt down beside him, and reached towards the man's chest. Daryl hadn't noticed the chain that had fallen out of his shirt, not the ring that was hooped onto it.

"This was my friends." Georgie pulled the chain with a quick practised jerk and the chain snapped. She threaded the ring onto the crucifix the Mexican in the prison use to wear. After a pause, she reached out and pulled the knife from the man's leg. Pulling up his shirt, she angled the blade so that it lay against the pale skin of his chest. At first, Daryl didn't understand what she was trying to do. Then she dragged it down and the skin peeled off, like the peel of an orange. She gritted her teeth as she did it, as if she could feel the skin coming off. As she pulled her hand away, Daryl could see her usually steady hand shaking. He reached out and placed his hand on hers, guiding it to the next spot on the screaming man's chest.

They worked together-Daryl didn't have any idea how long for-pulling the man apart piece by piece in silence. It was Daryl who did most of the cutting. Occasionally Georgie took the knife to administer a particularly nasty cut or stab, usually to the torso, but mostly she just watched Daryl. By the time Daryl felt the last of the rage seep away from him, the man had been dead for a good half an hour.

"You're just poking at a corpse Daryl." Georgie's voice was dull and lifeless. Daryl looked at her. Her vest was soaked in blood, and it was splattered across her face too. She passed Daryl the shot gun he had laid on the floor. "Better make sure he doesn't come back. Fucking dickweed." She stood up and looked down at her top. "Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck." She made some sort of attempt to brush herself down, then put the heel of her hand to her forehead. She breathed in through her mouth and lowered her hand, looking away into the distance. "I guess we really did him in." She didn't look happy about it. Daryl didn't understand why. He looked around for his checked shirt. When they had started to really go for it, he had removed it. He tossed it to Georgie. She turned her back to him and pulled her vest off, pulling on his shirt. It was too big and baggy for her, and when she turned around, it seemed only to emphasise her collar bones, making her look weak, like she couldn't take care of herself. But at the same time, it kind of looked good on her.

"Thanks. But you really should..." She motioned at the body. Daryl looked, to see the corpse start to twitch. The familiar sounds of a walkers moans were starting to emerge from its mouth. Daryl raised the gun and shot through the walkers head. Georgie hugged herself, pulling the sleeves of Daryl's shirt over her hands and holding onto them.

"We should go back. Check on Rick, Carl. T-Dog. Rick must have lost a lot of blood..." Daryl shrugged. His head felt fuzzy and he felt sluggish. The rush of adrenaline he had felt whilst chopping the leader into pieces had left his blood and now he just wanted to sleep. His shoulder was still hurting, only now he couldn't ignore the pain. Georgie looked at him sympathetically.

"Let's get back. You'll feel better once you lie down. Get some rest." She walked past, picking up her crossbow, placing her hand briefly on his shoulder. "Just a heads up...you might have some bad dreams. They...they'll go eventually." She started to walk ahead, then stopped and looked back at him. "Come on." Daryl took one last look at the mangled remains of the man who had hunted them, and followed Georgie back towards the hotel.


	31. Ghosts

**Rick**

The pain in what had been his wrist and was now just a stump was what finally woke Rick. He had been half asleep, tossing and turning, fitfully dreaming. He had been half aware of Ben coming in, changing his dressings and doing things to his stump that hurt almost as much as the dull blade that had cut it off had. He had heard Carl, Andrea and T-Dog's voices speaking to him, urging him to wake up, to get better. Most disturbingly, Lori had been sat by his bed, feeding him broth, her cool hands on his forehead. Rick had tried to get her to talk to him, so he could hear her voice one last time, but she had remained infuriatingly silent. She hadn't left him though. Not once.

When he woke, she was still there, sitting cross legged at the end of his bed, watching him intently. He reached out his one hand to her. She smiled, but her smile was all wrong. And so was her skin-it was ever so slightly too dark. In fact the more he looked at her, the less she looked like Lori.

"He's awake." Georgie smiled brightly. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and shuffled down towards him, reaching out and lighting another candle. Rick blinked at her.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Georgie scowled.

"You couldn't say something nice?" She pulled the sleeves of the checked shirt down and gripped onto the sleeve cuffs, hunching her shoulders-just like Lori use to. "It's Daryl's shirt."

"Why the hell are you wearing Daryl's shirt?" Rick tried to shift himself up in bed, but it wasn't possible one handed, and his stump was still too sore to use effectively. Georgie shrugged. She reached forward and placed her hand on his forehead-the hand he had thought was his wife's.

"Your fever has gone down. We were worried about infection." She picked up his stump and gently examined it. "The bandages are still dry, so you're not bleeding or infected. That's good." She smiled at him. "I think you're going to be ok." She placed his hand back on the bed gently. Rick turned his head to the left. Under the window, a bin was set, full of small glass bottles and bandages.

"I should empty that really, it'll start to smell bad," Georgie murmured to herself. Rick squinted at her.

"Have you been here with me, all the time?" Georgie nodded, plucking at the sleeve of Daryl's shirt. She looked at Rick shyly out of the corner of her eye.

"Do you mind? I was worried about you. And I was lonely."

"So you thought you'd sit and look after a barely conscious one handed man. That's rational." Rick gave up his struggle to sit up and slumped back on to the bed.

"Here, let me." Georgie heaved herself off the bed and rearranged the pillows behind Rick. Taking him by his elbow, she pulled him up so that he was finally sat upright. "Once your arm has healed, it won't hurt to use the stump so much." She sat on the edge of the bed again. She couldn't stop playing with the shirt.

"How's Carl. Is he ok? And T-Dog-did they hurt him?" A vague memory of his son being dragged into the clearing where he had been tied up and mutilated flashed through his mind.

"Carl's fine, they're both fine. Carl's holding up with Andrea and Dale. Miao is looking after T-Dog. And by look after, I mean force to occasionally sleep rather than just come in here and watch you sleep. They've been really worried. We all have."

"What about Sophie? Is she ok? How's she coping?" Georgie didn't quite meet his eye.

"She's fine. She's staying with Glenn and Maggie."

"She'll be glad I'm up now then. She must have missed you." When Georgie didn't respond, he leant forward. "You could go get her now if you like?" Georgie slowly shook her head.

"She's with them permanently. Not with me. Dale thought, after what happened, what I did, that it would be best."

"What do you mean?" Rick looked closely at Georgie. "What are you talking about? Sophie's not with you anymore? What's happened? How long have I been in this room?"

"A week or so. You ran a fever. Like I said before, we were worried your arm was infected. You were delirious at one point. Ben was really worried. Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog went out to the nearest town to find medical supplies." She paused briefly, touching Ricks ruined arm softly. "For someone who only specialises in mental health care, Ben did a really good job in fixing you up. He injected you with antibiotics, he cleaned the gunk from your arm, he sewed it up, changed your bandages. He saved your life. He's another one who's being made to sleep."

Rick looked down at his arm, taking it in properly for the first time. For some reason, even though his eyes could see that his hand was gone, he could still feel it at the end of his arm. If he closed his eyes, he would have sworn that the episode in the forest was just a bad dream. He looked back at Georgie.

"What happened after T-Dog and I were taken? How did you find us? Why has Dale taken Sophie away from you?" He leaned in, pulling Georgie's face towards him with his good hand gently. "Tell me everything Georgie."

He listened, being as careful as possible not to let any expression show on his face, as Georgie explain how she and Adele had gotten the location out of the one man that they had captured; how they had found them in the woods and killed the remaining men; how she and Daryl had taken one man apart and beaten him until he had died; how they had come back and fought with the others. From the way she paused and hesitated, Rick had the strong feeling that Georgie was holding back details, but he didn't press her for them.

"What did you fight about, when you came back?" Georgie paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully.

"Dale...didn't like the way we got information. He thought what we did was cruel and unnecessary, that we could have gotten the information another way. When Daryl and I came back after the others, he guessed what we had done. He was so angry. He said...he said I had spent too long at the complex...that I was still acting as if I was under the Governors command." She looked down again. "He said Sophie should stay with Glenn and Maggie. That Matthew and Harry should stay with T-Dog. The boys refused and stayed with Daryl."

"What about Sophie?"

"Sophie hasn't spoken to anyone since Carol died." Georgie's voice broke slightly on Carol's name. Rick reached forward and placed his hand on Georgie's hand, which was still twisting the hem of Daryl's shirt. "No one knows what she wants." Rick moved his hand from hers, to her face.

"Sophie would want to be with you. Everyone here knows that." He swung his legs out from around him, and made to stand up. "I'll talk to Dale."

"Rick!" The room swayed and Rick's vision blurred. He was aware of Georgie's hands steadying him. "You need to regain your strength before you do anything! Don't worry about anything. Now that I know you're ok, I'll stay in Adele's room. I won't be alone. I'll bring Carl to you in the morning." She set him down on the bed, and busied herself rearranging his sheets. "I'll bring new bed sheets from one of the maid's cupboards too. You've been sweating in these ones. They're gross. In fact, you're gross. When you can stand, you need to wash. You smell almost as bad as Daryl does." Rick chuckled weakly and then coughed. Georgie passed him a glass of water. He gulped it down gratefully. "I'll fill this up before I leave. Go back to sleep Rick."

Georgie disappeared into the bathroom as Rick shifted himself down in his bed. He could feel sleep coming upon him again, real sleep, not the restless in-between he had been subjected to since he had come back from the woods. The last thing he remembered before he slipped into sleep, was wondering why Georgie had gone into the bathroom, but Lori had come out of the bathroom with his water.


	32. Movingon

**Harry**

Harry sat outside the room where Rick was. He had a pack of cards in his hands and was trying to shuffle them the way T-Dog had shown him, however his hands weren't quite big enough and he kept spilling cards on the floor. Sighing, he picked the spilled cards on the floor and tried again. As he collected all the cards in his hand, the door behind him opened, and Carl walked out. Harry scrambled to his feet.

"How's your daddy?"

"He's good. Ben thinks we can move back into our room soon, because he won't need to keep an eye on him all the time. And Georgie has been helping to look after him too."

"Yeah." Harry wrinkled his nose. "She was suppose to stay in our room with us, but she only stayed one night. She was in there for a week and then she went back and stayed in her old room on her own."

"How come Dale doesn't want Sophie to stay with Georgie anymore." Carl opened the door to the room he and his daddy use to share and beckoned Harry to come in.

"I don't know," Harry perched himself on the sofa and started to share out the cards. "Probably because he's a..." he shot a glance towards the door. "...a crazy old coot." Carl giggled loudly.

"That's what Daryl calls him all the time."

"Daryl's right." Harry finished dealing the cards. "Dale thinks he and Georgie are wicked people. But they killed those people. THEY were evil. So that makes Daryl and Georgie the good guys." Carl frowned.

"Dad says that there is no such thing as good people and bad people. He said that most people are good, but they sometimes make bad choices. And that nowadays, we have to make choices that we use to think were bad to stop something worse from happening." Harry shrugged.

"I still think Dale is a crazy old coot." Picking up his cards Harry started to order them; Carl did the same. Harry glanced at the pile of cards that was left. "Have you spoken to Sophie? Is she still sad?"

Carl nodded. "She won't talk now. She just sits and stares at things."

Harry scowled. "It's all those cannibals fault. They ruined everything. Everyone's sad, or angry and it's because of what they did." He fell silent. He remembered vividly the morning Daryl and Georgie had come back from the wood. He and Matthew had waited in the reception for them both, even when Andrea had placed her hand on Matthews shoulder and suggested they should wait in bed.

"Harry won't be able to sleep unless he knows Daryl's ok," Matthew had replied stubbornly. Harry had known that he had really meant that he wouldn't be able to sleep, although he was worried. They had both been half asleep when the doors had slid open. Harry had felt arms pick him up and had opened his eyes to see Georgie smiling at him. Daryl had his arms around Matthew.

"Did you get them all?" Georgie had sshhed him, and stroked his hair, carrying him up the stairs. Harry looked groggily at Daryl. "T-Dog is ok. Miao cried when she saw him. I don't know why." Daryl grunted and the four of them went into their room. Georgie had gone to leave, but Daryl had stopped her, suggesting she stay in their room so she wouldn't be alone. Later in the night, Harry had needed the bathroom. Creeping from the living room where he and Matthew had the sofa bed, through the main bedroom, he had seen Daryl and Georgie curled up in the big bed. Georgie's head had been on Daryl's chest and Daryl's arm had been around her. Both were still clothed, as if they had fallen asleep as soon as the door had shut. Neither stirred when he closed the door to the bathroom, nor when he left the room. He'd poked Matthew awake when he got back into bed and asked him if he thought Georgie was going to be like a new mother to them. Matthew had mumbled something in response, but Harry thought he had said yes. But when they woke up, Georgie had gone, and they hadn't spoken to her for over a week. He looked at his cards.

"Any threes?"

"Go fish." Harry pulled a card from the pile. It wasn't fair. They had been so close to having a family. What had happened? Why had Dale become so angry with Georgie and Adele? They hadn't done anything wrong. Why was everyone shouting all the time now. Or worse, pretending they didn't want to shout. Even T-Dog, who was usually so easy going, seemed tense and angry.

"Any Queens?" Harry pulled a queen from his hand, and handed it over to Carl. "Any Jacks?"

"Go fish." Carl pulled a card from the pile.

"I hate it here now Harry." Harry looked up at Carl. "It's not a nice place. Only bad things have happened here. And now everyone's fighting. I want to go somewhere else." Harry looked at his cards. He felt the same. Like the hotel was a curse.

"Me too. Maybe if we ask your daddy and Daryl...they'll take us away." Even as he said it, he knew it wouldn't be that easy for Carl. But he didn't say anything.

"Yeah." Carl brightened. "Maybe, he'll take us to hide at Disneyland. I don't think the haunted house would scare me at all anymore."

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing card games and talking about their favourite theme parks and rides. When it was time for dinner, Carl went back to Rick's sickroom, waiting for him to come downstairs. Harry went to sit at the table.

Harry use to like mealtimes at the hotel. They were loud and full of laughter. People use to tease each other across the table. Sometimes he would try to join in, and everyone would listen to him, which made him feel important and grown up. But all that had changed. Now the meals were uneasy. With the absence of Rick, Georgie, who had spent most of her time in Rick's room, and occasionally Ben, as well as the two empty spots where Katie and Carol should have sat, the table was far too quiet. Harry cast his eyes around the table. People tended to talk to the person next to them, rather than across the table. As Harry was usually sat in between Matthew and Daryl, the conversation was minimal. He was halfway through his meal, when he noticed everyone looking at the doorway. He looked up to see Rick walking through the door, lead by Carl, and with Georgie holding onto his arm. Ben followed behind.

"Good to see you up and about Rick." T-Dog spoke first, with the first genuine smile on his face Harry had seen since the cannibals. "Here man, have a seat." He indicated two chairs next to him and Miao, which Rick and Carl took. Ben walked around to Adele, taking the chair by her and kissing her on the check as he sat down. Georgie hesitated: the only two chairs left were by Dale and Daryl. Harry looked at Daryl to see how he had taken the appearance of Georgie. He was ignoring her, still shovelling food into his mouth. Georgie opted for the chair next to Dale. Neither of them looked particularly comfortable about it. Rick took two mouthfuls, and then spoke.

"Anyone want to enlighten me on what's happened since I've been in my room?" No one spoke. "No? Because it's like a morgue in here." He looked around. Harry snuck a look too. Most people were looking at their food. Rick put down his fork.

"Look. I know we have all been through hell and back. We have lost two members of our group. We've had to fight and do things that we...that we knew were wrong, in order to do what was right. But we did it for the group. The reason we've survived this far is because we work as a group. We can't let ourselves fall apart now. If we stop trusting each other, we're not going to survive." Everyone was silent. Ricks words hung in the air. Harry looked at Georgie. She was playing with her food. Her eyes were the only ones not looking at Rick. Everyone else's full attention was on him. Some were shamefaced, some simply listening. Rick paused before he continued.

"I know we thought this would be a safe place. And, for a time, it was. It still is. But now, it's full of bad memories. The longer we stay here, the weaker our bonds will get. I think we should move out." Harry stopped eating and stared at Carl across the table. He'd managed to get Rick to agree. Carl grinned at Harry. "The weather is milder. We'll be vulnerable to walkers, but we can find another shelter like this. There must be other hotels like this across the state. We can get away and make a clean start. I won't go without you all. But I think we should leave. Tomorrow. All those in favour..." He raised his hand. Harry held his breath.

T-Dog's hand was the first to go up, followed by Adele and Ben. Slowly, but surely, every hand around the table raised into the air. Rick nodded.

"We should try to be out by midday. Raid as much from the hotel as you can." He sat down. A quiet buzz of chatter grew around the table. It wasn't quite like the meals before, but it was infinitely better then the gloomy silence that had been the norm at recent meals. Harry wiggled around to look at Matthew, who was already looking at him around Daryl. He was smiling at his little brother, a look of relief on his face. Harry started to bolt down his food, so he could pack, ready to go. He didn't know where he would end up, but he knew he was surrounded by people who would do anything necessary to keep him safe.


	33. Thawingout

**So, I realised that I keep talking about how Georgie is suffering. Well boo-hoo. Adele suffers too. So I thought I would address the imbalance and let Adele get some stuff off her chest.**

**Andrea**

"Georgie? You need any help in there?" Andrea rapped gently on the door of Georgie and Carol's old room. After Rick's speech at dinner, Dale had approached Georgie to apologise.

"I never should have said you were acting like the Governor. Never Georgie. I'm...I'm an old man. I'm set in my ways. This new life...I could cope when we were just killing walkers. But it's harder to make that transition to living people. No matter what they've done." Georgie had listened, eyes down. "I thought that because it was the first thing you decided to do, it was easy for you. But, I've seen you these last days. I was wrong. I'm truly sorry. If you can forgive me-not that you should-I'd like to start again." Georgie had licked her lips and met Dale's eyes.

"I'd like that Dale." When Dale had held his hand to her, she had taken him in a brief hug. Whilst they were loading up the RV with food from the kitchen, he had paused and turned to Andrea.

"Who's going through Carol's things?" Andrea had stopped and looked at him.

"I don't know. Georgie I guess." She paused, considering what she had just said. When Amy had died, she had wanted to go through all of her old clothes, the things she had brought when they had evacuated to Atlanta by herself. It had taken her 5 minutes to descend into a sobbing wreak. Dale had had to sort through everything with her. She couldn't see Georgie coping with a similar situation well, given the high stress situations she had been through. She leant forward and kissed Dale. "I'll go help her." Dale nodded.

"I can't imagine she'll want me up there. I mean, I know she says she's forgiven me, but..." Andrea smiled.

"She'll forgive you. But I'll go up. I know what it's like."

As she pushed the door open, she was surprised to see Adele stood in the middle of the room. Adele turned and smiled at Andrea.

"I told Georgie not to come up and do this. She's helping Rick and Carl." She glanced around. A mess of clothes surrounded her. Georgie's weapons were the only things neatly stacked in a corner. "I thought, if I did it, it'd be easier." She swallowed, and Andrea realised she was on the brink of tears. "You know, because I didn't think I was as close to Carol. But, it is hard. Every time I pick something up, I remember something about her. Like the day she took a knife to one of the men in the complex for trying to attack Julie. You remember? We both came running down the stairs and she was holding it to his throat. Her hand was shaking, but she held her own." Adele really was starting to cry now, and Andrea held her in a huge hug.

"I would have done the same as Georgie," Adele gulped through her sobs. "If I had gone after Daryl, I would have done exactly what she did. I would have cut that man into tiny pieces for what he did. I know what they did was wrong, but I would have done the same." Andrea smoothed down the younger woman's hair, rocking her gently like she would a child. Gradually, the tears subsided, and Adele raised her head from Andrea's shoulder shamefaced.

"I can't remember the last time I cried like that. I've been so intent on being supportive to Georgie. Everything she's been through, and yet she just carried on. I don't know if she's strong or stubborn. I just thought, because I have Ben to talk to..." She looked at Andrea. "You think I'm just whining now don't you?"

"No." Andrea brushed a piece of hair from out of her eyes. "You and Georgie have been through a lot. And you've supported each other throughout. You both have the right to vent." Adele looked down at the floor. "Hey." Andrea held her at arm's length and lifted her face. "We'll go through her stuff together."

They methodically sorted the clothes: Carol's, Georgie's and Sophie's, and talked about anything and everything. They talked about their respective relationships with Ben and Dale, how the children were holding up (Andrea was worried that Sophie wasn't going to speak again, whilst Adele was confident that she just needed time); the food that they wished they could get hold of (Vegemite for Adele, Candy canes for Andrea). Finally, they broached the topic that Andrea was most curious about.

"We didn't lose control in that room. We kept each other in check." Adele was folding Sophie's clothes, but she kept eye contact with Andrea. "We knew not to go too far."

"How far is too far?" Andrea started to rummage through a set of drawers, picking out clothes that might be useful.

"When you stop having to collect yourself before each cut. When you start to show emotion when you're doing it. Anger, remorse. We just needed to get the information out of him. We didn't do it for revenge." Andrea nodded. "That's why I killed him so quickly when I came back. I tried to make it humane. A quick beheading. Then using the Molotov cocktails to burn the body. It was more than he deserved."

"Did you learn to do that in the complex?" Adele nodded.

"Another one of the Governors sick lessons to create his two protégées. We never enjoyed it as much as he did though. Until we came here, I never thought I'd want to do it to anyone so much. It really...it made me doubt myself Andrea."

"I think if anyone hurt Dale, I'd be able to hurt and maim until every last drop of that person's blood had run out of their body." Andrea sat back and contemplated her next sentence. "Before the walkers came, there was no need for any of this. But now...we're forever waiting for the next extreme situation. And with those situations, come extreme reactions. If we hesitate to take those actions, if we don't adapt...we don't survive."

"The only problem is, if the world ever returns to the way it was, can we change back? We let ourselves do these things, we let these emotions get out of hand, will we remember how to control them?" Andrea looked at Adele. For a moment there was a silence, then both women gave nervous chuckles.

"That's a bit deep."

"Yeah, sorry." Adele smiled. She stood up. "I think we're done. Let's get this down to the RV and cars." Both women picked up a bag and made their way down the corridor. On the way, they saw Daryl and Matthew coming up the stairs. Matthew smiled and said hi to both of them, Daryl barely registered they walked past.

"That's a point," Andrea leant in close behind Adele as they walked down the stairs. "Are Georgie and Daryl together now or something? She's been wearing his shirt for a week. And she spent the night in his room a few times. Any idea what's going on there?"

"Georgie and Daryl?" Adele turned her head. "It would make sense. They're kind of suited to each other! But, she's spent all her time with Rick. I haven't seen her or Daryl even look at each other."

"Why would Georgie spend all her time with Rick?" Andrea mulled this over as they went outside.

"I don't know." Adele placed the bag next to the RV and turned. Andrea followed suit. "But get this. I went in there once, just to see if he was ok, and to give Ben some food. Rick was feverish and mumbling gibberish. Georgie was wiping sweat off his forehead, and he grabbed her arm and called her Lori."

"What?" Andrea stopped. "He thought she was..."

"Yeap. He was totally convinced that she was..."Adele stopped mid-sentence and held her arm out, stopping Andrea in her tracks. She was staring into the woods, and seemed to have stopped breathing. Andrea followed her gaze and felt her heart stop.

A walker was moving jerkily out of the woods. Its head lolled grotesquely to one side, one hand was missing a few fingers. It was reaching towards the pair of them, making the familiar guttural sounds.

"Oh God!" Andrea ran towards the bag that they had brought down, and pulled out a gun. She fired it at the walker, but it simply dry clicked. Panicking, Adele rushed to her side and the pair of them started to rummage frantically through the bag for ammunition.

"Go get your sword!" Adele scrambled to her feet and started to run to the door. A shot rang through the air and the walker fell. Andrea swung around to see Ben stood in the doorway, a smoking shotgun in his hand. He looked shocked, and dropped the gun almost immediately.

"BEN!" Adele threw her arms around him and started to smother his face in kisses. "You wonderful man! I will NEVER doubt you again!" Andrea stood up, her hands shaking.

"What the hell's happening out here?" Dale came out of the RV looking bemused.

"We need to get out of here." Andrea placed her arms around Dale's neck. "The walkers are thawing. We need to get out of here soon."

**Check out my new story, WalkingDead-the Road less travelled!**


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